Naruto's Adventures Part 2 - The World of Oppurtunities
by asdf1asdf1
Summary: With defeat fresh in the minds of the players, Naruto must find a way to regroup. Forced into a leadership position, will Naruto be able to step up, or crack under the pressure? What new encounters and people will Naruto meet as Sword Art Online advances? Find out by joining Naruto as he seeks to take out the formidable opponent that stand in his way.
1. Chapter 1

Part 2 – The World of Opportunities

Prologue

"You have to think less linear, dear," the lady chuckled. Easily sidestepping the raging boar, the woman finished it off with a sword skill.

Turning back to her companion with a smile, the woman laughed at her stricken husband.

"It's so easy when you do it," he complained bitterly. "We should just wait for the issue to be resolved on the other side."

Frowning, the lady gave her husband from the real world a once over. Recently married, they had bought this game as a sort of 'bonding' attempt. Raised in a middle-income family, the woman's parents had found her a partner when she hadn't found one herself.

Not surprising, the woman grumbled internally. Shy, scared to speak her mind, obedient. Even thinking about how she had been before, made her grind her teeth in anger. The husband that had been chosen for her stood there whining as she pretended to listen.

"Yes dear," she faithfully repeated back. Obedient to a fault, she had never spoken up against the marriage to a man she didn't love. She even stayed silent as he fulfilled his husbandly duties. The age gap of almost ten years had put a mild strain on their relationship. He worked, she cleaned. He took her when he wanted, she obeyed.

Eventually, a desire to understand his subservient wife led them to Sword Art Online. When pushed to decide, this is what she had chosen. A world of freedom she had heard. As years of holding her tongue built, she had finally found freedom, a purpose.

When Kayaba had damned them to living in Aincrad, depression overcame them all, except one. Budding joy threatened to make her laugh in the square.

Finally. Free. Free to be more than a trophy wife. The role that her father had beaten into her. The role her mother had also possessed. It was hard to look at her husband. Desire to keep up appearances combatted her desire to break free and do as she wished.

She had finally gotten her husband to leave the safe zone and come hunting. This was all in the hope that he would see the fun and excitement. Instead, all he saw was fear and death. Even against these simple boars the man struggled and was often paralysed in terror.

Unwilling to abandon him in case they were freed from SAO, the woman continued to hesitate before making large decisions.

"Yuuko!" the man growled menacingly. A month ago, she would have cowered and asked forgiveness before her husband's rage, now however…

"Is there a problem, Grimlock?" The woman replied easily, with special emphasis on his avatar's name.

"Pay attention! Griselda," Grimlock grinded out.

"I'll do my best," Griselda replied with a demure, yet confident smile. Walking past her baffled husband, Griselda returned to the Town of Beginnings for the night.

* * *

Chapter 1

_Wednesday Dec 7__th__, 2022_

"We should go now!" Arthur growled, "they're losing confidence!"

"No!" Naruto replied for what was hopefully the last time that day. With Coper the sixteen of them were all ready to face Illfang again, they trusted him. However, Naruto wanted three more parties. One for each kobold companion Illfang brought with him. The others complained it was overkill, but Naruto knew different. Having many people would be beneficial for morale during the fight. Nerves could be even more of a problem than Diavel's overconfidence was.

Tasting bile, Naruto had to look away as the list rang through his head one more time. Diavel, Lind, Kreuger, and Kato. Four deaths. Four more than would die on the second attempt Naruto told himself.

This time Illfang wouldn't leave his sight. To this end, Naruto wanted an entire party on each Kobold Trooper that spawned. Overkill it may be, but Naruto wanted the insurance.

So far, Naruto had two parties willing to make an attempt at the boss: Agil's, and another that had shown up not long ago. The Legend Braves they called themselves. Each name was based on some mythical hero: Orlando, Cuchulainn, and so forth. Talks with the other parties had gone… badly. Many of them blamed either Naruto or Argo for Diavel's death.

Time was creeping on and Naruto knew the desire for tangible results was pressing down on him. Word of the failure had sent a shockwave of despair across the floor. Half of a party wiped out; the leader felled in one sword skill. With rumours abounding only Argo's quick mind and wide influence managed to halt the entire player base from sinking into depression. If suicide became the norm, there would be no one left to save.

Naruto couldn't help but sigh as he thought back on that day. The day he declared his path to the world.

* * *

_Monday Dec 5__th__, 2022_

The horror of yesterday fresh in his mind, Naruto breathed a breath of fresh air at last. Having paid his respects to the memorial in the black iron palace, Naruto looked around the courtyard where Kayaba had caused so much pain. It was here that Argo had organized it. It was here where crowds of people would assemble to hear him speak.

Organized by Argo in less than a day, it was truly incredible what the girl had managed. Looking over his shoulder he saw her chatting with Sachi and Asuna. As much as she had tried to appear unaffected, Naruto knew better. Her nerves were as fried as his were about this meeting. If he didn't convince the public here and now that the game was indeed beatable, they were screwed.

The lynch mobs would come for those they blamed. Argo, Naruto, and eventually the rest of the beta testers. Anyone they could pin their circumstances on. Terror would blind them.

Determined not to bring death upon his friends, Naruto resolved himself to bring some degree of confidence to the people trapped in the game.

Standing on top of the teleport gate in the center of the plaza, Naruto was struck by the sea of people here. By rough estimate he would assume that almost all surviving players had shown up. Not from force this time, but hope. The last vestige of hope was what Naruto offered. The final tuft of grass before the cliff. No matter how unlikely, instinct tells one to grab hold and never let go. That's what Naruto would have to do. He had to support all these players.

Gulping, Naruto held up his hand for silence. In a wave the great plaza quieted. "Thank you all for coming. I know this place brings all of you bad memories. It does for me as well.

"However, we can't let that experience control us. We can't let Kayaba control us. As I'm sure you have all heard by now, the first boss raid attempt was a failure. As a participant in it, I deserve some of that blame. But I am not here to apologise about past mistakes or wrongs. No, I am here to look to the future. To our families, the loved ones we left behind. To the world we were ripped out of. I am here to offer you hope.

"It may not be today, it may not be next week, next month, or even next year. But believe me when I tell you, Sword Art Online will be cleared."

At Naruto's resolute declaration, murmurs ran through the crowd. He had said what almost none of them could bring themselves to think. 100 floors and they were stuck on number one. How could anyone stand there and say that when the first boss had repelled them?

"Before this week is out, I will be on the second floor. For this to happen without more causalities, we need fighters. We need people who can risk everything to return to their families. We need people who can stand in front of the charging monsters and not flee. We need heroes. We need you to remember the resolve of childhood dreams and act on it. Your name will be remembered throughout history as the liberator of Sword Art Online. However, it will never happen, unless you start levelling up."

With a sour taste in his mouth, Naruto listened to the roar of appreciation. He had played them like a fiddle. Promise them fame and glory, it was the oldest trick in the book. The fact it had worked on these loner type gamers was somewhat surprising.

"To freedom!" Naruto cried, leaping through the teleport gate he was standing on, he returned to Tolbana. Not staying around to answer questions, Argo had figured it would be better for now to remain separate. An idol to look up to, not a comrade to chat with. Sighing about the theatrics, Naruto went in search of a bed he could sleep the stress away in.

* * *

_Wednesday Dec 7__th__, 2022_

The end of the week he had declared. Saturday. If he could get a third party tomorrow, that gave one day to practice and the then the day of the boss fight. Groaning, Naruto held his head in his hands.

"Bad day?" Sachi asked soothingly, rubbing his shoulders.

"Nah, just stressful," Naruto informed her. "Have any of the parties had a change of heart?"

"I think Kibaou is starting to come around," Sachi answered slowly. "For some reason the other parties in the raid seem to look to him as the new leader."

"Hmm," Tapping his fingers, Naruto thought of how he could get them to come to his side. Basically, every group that wouldn't join him blamed him for the death of Diavel's party if not Diavel himself. Retreating was the right move; he knew it was. Argo had assured him there was no katanas in the beta, at least in what they managed to get to.

With a slam, the door was flung open and panting, the subject of Naruto's thoughts, Argo, entered.

"Nar-boi! You're not going to believe this!"

With Argo's nose a hairsbreadth away, Sachi whispered menacingly, "back off Argo! Do you want the whole world to know he has two girlfriends?"

Noticing her position, Argo blushed and took a seat. "Sorry about that," Regardless, her excitement was undampened. "So, you know that long series of fetch quests that I was slowly working on?"

"Yeah, the new ones with bad rewards."

"Right, the promise of something big at the end kept me going…"

"And you got something good?" Naruto interrupted, joining in her excitement.

"Uh huh," Argo nodded excited. "Information on Illfang. Details on his katana form and the skills that he can use with it!"

"That's fantastic!" Naruto shouted excited. Reading the list, Naruto let out a chuckle. "'Whirling Death', Illfang jumps into the air and lands with a counter clockwise horizontal slash, AOE. High chance of stunning. The skill is activated when Illfang places his left hand on the ground."

"It's perfect," Argo crowed happily.

"There's thirteen skills here…" Sachi murmured, "How is anyone supposed to recognize what skill is which without hours of practice?"

"For the average player they won't…" Argo trailed off, gazing at Naruto.

Sighing, Naruto knew what Argo was implying. "Yes, I should be able to counter the skills with this info. Publish this and send Agil to go talk to Kibaou again. I think he's scared of him."

"That's my Nar-boi," Argo sang happily. With a smile she moved to carry out Naruto's instructions.

"Wait." Naruto called out before she could fully leave.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Was there nothing in the reward on weaknesses?"

"No, you saw everything I got. _Illfang likes using an axe and buckler to cut through his opponents with force. Although, when pushed into a corner, he resorts to his coveted nodachi; a blade that prioritizes speed over power, blows that aren't blocked inflict serious damage. _The rest is info on his sword skills."

"But that is a weakness, Argo." Naruto told her with an evil smile.

Almost feeling a little bad for the poor kobold, Argo darted out of the inn.

Once Argo had left, Sachi hesitantly spoke up. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Ripping his gaze away from the sheet of paper that contained the answer to his problems, Naruto smiled. "Of course."

"I messaged Silica again. She's continuing to fight."

"Did she hear my speech?" Naruto asked quietly.

Nodding Sachi bit her lip nervously. She knew this was a touchy subject for Naruto.

"I wonder if my speech is actually going to save anyone," Naruto wondered, his eyes tracing lines in the ceiling. "Would it have been better to leave them in despair or play on their fantasies?"

"I think, and so does everyone else, that the speech was necessary. Dying trying to clear the game is better than falling off the edge of Aincrad in the hopes that Kayaba lied to us."

Sighing, Naruto rubbed his eyes, exhaustion setting in from the sleepless nights. "But then, their blood wouldn't be on my hands," Naruto answered sadly.

Casting a glance at his morose girlfriend who didn't know what to say, Naruto sat up straight. Grabbing her hands, Naruto smiled gently. "So, what else did Silica say?"

"Oh, right." Sachi laughed. "I got so distracted I forgot to tell you the most important part. Apparently, a lot of men doubt her abilities, so she has trouble finding parties. I guess she teamed up with another girl who is having the same issues."

"So, it's just the two of them?" Naruto asked worried.

"It seems that way. Well, she did mention something a blacksmith in passing, but I fail to see how that helps them fight."

Frowning, Naruto agreed. Blacksmithing required quite a bit of money put into it before it could start to make it back. This was mainly due to the difficulty of mining and transporting ores. Also, at low experience, the NPC's would sell better equipment and have higher upgrading chances. "I guess I could give them a kickstart…"

"Absolutely not!" Sachi denied instantly.

"Huh? Why?" Naruto asked, baffled by the vehement denial.

"Uh… Well, you have to study the Illfang notes, and you know, get another party…" Sachi blushed lightly, knowing her denial had been out of line. But Silica's messages… She had fawned over Naruto, she didn't even know his name, she called him the Black Swordsman, for his black hair and eyes as well as the general monotone state of his leather armour. Sachi had rolled her eyes at the nickname, but truth be told, it was steadily growing on her. Sachi had no basis for it but putting Naruto into a place with two more girls just felt like a bad idea. She didn't want to confine Naruto to herself, but she also didn't have to just smile and allow Naruto to run off with other girls. Especially when the clearing of the floor had priority.

Naruto looked at Sachi suspiciously, detecting hidden motives but deciding she was right. "Indeed. Defeating Illfang is more important than their lives. Hopefully you've said enough that they'll be safe until we can help them out."

"Well… I can always go and help…" Sachi offered nervously.

"Really?" Naruto asked in surprise. "You're willing to go and help another party learn how to fight without me there?"

Sachi lowered her head embarrassed. It was such a clear contradiction from what she had said earlier in this game. She had told herself if Naruto stopped fighting, then so would she. But she had changed. Sachi was no longer the person who had collapsed in her room a month ago.

Raising her head, Sachi stared resolutely into Naruto's eyes. "I'd like permission to use today and tomorrow to help Silica. Also, I'd like permission to bring Asuna along."

Nodding, Naruto smiled proudly at his girlfriend. This was the girl he remembered. His oldest friend had returned, and better than ever. "I may need you for parts of tomorrow if I find another party today. I want the full raid assembled."

Bringing Naruto in for one final hug, Sachi beamed at him before darting out the inn door like Argo did mere minutes before.

* * *

"You wanted to talk?"

Nodding with a sour look on his face, Kibaou stepped forward. They were gathered in the amphitheatre that Diavel had called them all to, to organize the first boss raid. Reminiscent of then, most of the people from the first raid were here as well. Naruto was the only one from his two parties.

"Agil here showed up with the info on Illfang."

"Yes, it was a great find and should help immensely." Naruto agreed, giving nothing away.

"Everyone here has read it." Kibaou spit angrily. "Where did you get the info from? Why didn't you know this before the last raid!? Huh!?"

Smiling, Naruto accepted the charges with a nod. "That information which was freely given was the reward for the fetch quests issued around Tolbana."

"T-Those!?" Kibaou squealed.

"I gave up after the tenth part of uselessness." One of the assembled players admitted.

"As you can see, the quests were completed in the time after the last raid hoping that there would be something worthwhile at the end, and there was."

Accepting the words silently, Kibaou had a complicated look on his face. "I may have been wrong about you. Diavel once told me, that he was scared you would take command from him."

The old raid group shifted in confusion at the change in pace.

"I thought that's what you were doing when you ordered the retreat. Merely using Diavel's death as a stepping stone to take over…"

Swallowing Kiabou seemed to lose his voice for a moment. Fixing his gaze on Naruto's, Kibaou continued.

"When the rest of the raid retreated, I stayed to hear his final words. He really was the stronger one after all. That's what he said. So, I want you to prove it right now. Duel me. If you win, then I'll follow you to the end of the game. Show me that Diavel's faith in you wasn't misplaced. Prove that your grand speech wasn't an illusion!"

Finishing at a shout, Naruto was stunned by the heartfelt speech he'd just heard. Realizing his naivety made him chuckle. He thought he could define someone using a label. Kibaou wasn't a bully, he was confused, scared, and looking for someone to blame for taking away the person who had given him hope. He wanted to pin his issues on beta testers. He wanted a way out. Now, however, Naruto was his last hope, and so he too was holding onto it. Testing how reliable it was.

Timer ticking down, the raid moved out of the way for the half-finish duel. The one-handed swordsman against the one-handed swordsman with a shield and light metal armour. Merely stating it like that gave the impression that Kibaou had a massive advantage.

Growling, Kibaou opened the duel identical to how Diavel had all those weeks ago.

Smiling nostalgically, Naruto decided to deal with it the same way. Dodging backwards, Naruto almost laughed at the stunned expression that he was greeted with. Dropping a 'Vertical' on Kibaou's unarmored spiky head brought the duel to a close. Naruto's highly enhanced blade travelled far faster now than it had against Diavel. He knew there was room for improvement still, especially in the game related aspects of fighting, but this was more than enough for this duel.

Having the duel end so one-sided, Naruto was unsure how Kibaou would react. Trepidation at whether he should have fed the man's ego warred inside him.

"Huh?" Naruto grunted in surprise. Kibaou leaned his head back and roared in laughter.

"No wonder!" Kiabou laughed happily. "That overgrown Lizard won't stand a chance against you!"

"A marvelous duel," a voice broke in.

"Shivata?" Naruto asked surprised. It was from this very man that Naruto had learned the names of Diavel's fallen party members. Last time he had talked to him, Shivata was going back to the town of beginnings to regroup.

"I never got the chance to thank you Naruto." Shivata began seriously, "you saved my life from Illfang's descending blade. I too would like the chance to join you in your raid."

Ripples of conversation broke out throughout the group. Shivata's declaration was perhaps even more meaningful than Kibaou's. Shivata was one of the people in Diavel's party, part of his inner circle. The easiest person to blame for his death was Naruto.

"Thank you for agreeing, both of you." Nodding to the two new members he had acquired, Naruto focused on the rest of the uneasy group, called there by Kibaou to discuss the Illfang reveal. "As I'm sure you all know, I am planning a raid on Illfang this week, the earlier the better. To do this, I want at least one more party. We have four already, but a fifth could be essential for success."

Looking upon the rows of people, they shifted nervously. Images of a blue-haired knight exploding into polygons assaulting their minds, even the display of power just shown couldn't fully sway them.

Standing up, Agil led his party over. "I've already agreed to be there. You can count on us to participate in the raid."

Losing part of their support the crowd seemed to fold within themselves, everyone hoping someone else would take the job away from them.

"Did you guys forget Diavel already!?" Kibaou growled threateningly. "What would he do if he was here? Huh? Would he sit there and stare at his feet?"

Slowly but surely, members of the raid group came over. Most of them seemed to be members of Kibaou's past party. A dagger user with a sullen face caught Naruto's eye, his expression at odds with his actions.

Nodding at those who joined, Naruto then faced the ones who didn't. "Remember this day. When we get to the second floor, what will you do? If you won't fight this boss, will you fight the next? Think hard on what role you want to play in this story, MMO's aren't nice to those who fall behind."

Turning with a flourish, Naruto left the shocked remnants of the old raid group behind. A new raid for a new future Naruto mused silently.

* * *

"Good one!" Sachi congratulated the young girl. Wielding a dagger, the cute pigtail girl had just taken down a wolf monster.

High fiving, the four girls smiled at each other. In a game where the male to female ratio was heavily skewed, they were unsure whether events like this would be common or rare. On one hand, their rarity would make one think that girls would have very little interaction with each other. On the other hand, forming girl groups would also allow them some breathing room away from lecherous males panting after them.

"Hey Liten!" Silica yelped excitedly. "We're going to hit level three off this quest!"

"We are indeed Silica," the medium length brown-haired Liten answered with a smile. Her petite face was framed by loose strands of hair hanging just below her shoulders. Sachi put her age around fourteen or so, similar to her own.

The girls had apparently met at the same party recruitment event where the girls were passed over for more "reliable-looking" men.

Deciding that they'd form a party of just the two of them, the girls' playstyles matched up well. Liten wielding a long mace with a shield and the beginnings of heavy armor. Silica, however, was going for a hit-and-run dagger build.

Much to Sachi's shock, the two of them declared they "had fun" hunting boars. Now Sachi and Asuna were there to help them with moving forwards.

"Liten, if you can jab with your shield when the wolf uses a skill, it will reduce damage received." Asuna instructed.

"I know," Liten pouted, "but it's really hard. There is no system assistance to help."

"Eh?" Sachi asked curiously. "I thought that the shield skill made it easier."

Laughing nervously, Liten shuffled her feet, unsure of how to answer.

"You don't have it?" Sachi asked unbelievingly.

"Why?" Asuna followed up.

"To help Liz!" Silica broke in. "Liten has mining instead!"

Mouths gaping, Sachi and Asuna couldn't understand the insanity of it all. For a tank taking a skill like mining would set them very far back. Right now, Liten would have the mace skill and the mining skill. At level six Liten would get access to a third skill, this would presumably be shield. She would therefore be without her armour skill until level twelve.

Both Asuna and Sachi were level nine and therefore had three skill slots each. Asuna had Rapier, light metal armour, and… tailoring. She knew she should probably replace it but couldn't bring herself to do so at this junction. She was still trying to choose between various options.

Sachi on the other-hand, had two-handed spear, Light metal armour, and potion making. Argo had personally recommended that someone pick up potion making due to the vast amount of money it would save over the course of the game. The caveat was that someone else would then have to take herb-gathering, which ended up being Keita.

The difference between these two scenarios, was that Sachi wasn't crippling her battle potential by having potion making, Liten was. Tetsuo already had all three skills he needed to properly tank, Liten would have to hit level twelve to become as useful.

"So, your blacksmith pushed you into this," Asuna declared with narrowed eyes, already imagining the lashing she was going to give them.

"N-No!" Liten declared. "Liz was against this, but she really needed the ore to get started! Look at my mace, she made it!"

It was impressive, Asuna admitted. The Copper Mace wasn't for sale until Horunka. Instead of spending tons of money, she got it as a gift from the blacksmith.

"Can we meet this blacksmith when we head back to town?" Sachi asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Of course!" Silica nodded happily. "She's great!"

"She!?" Asuna and Sachi's exclamations resounded at the same time. Both of them were shocked to find yet another girl in the male-dominated game.

Silica happily skipped at the head of the party, leading them back to the town of beginnings. The sight of the skipping girl brought a smile to Sachi's face. She had thought the monsters would change her, but they hadn't. Additionally, the blacksmith was female. The very knowledge of that eased Sachi's conscious. While she knew it was wrong of her, Sachi couldn't help feeling more comfortable with the fact that it wasn't a man.

After handing in the quests and receiving their level up, Liten led them to an out of the way inn. Entering one of the for-rent rooms, they were greeted by a brown-haired girl staring intently at a mat. Giving them no more than cursory grunt, the girl was intently focused on whatever held her attention.

With short hair not even reaching her shoulders, the intense look on the girl's partially freckled face gave her an older appearance.

"Liz! We brought our friends back!" Silica happily informed the distracted blacksmith.

"You did what?" Looking up for once, the blacksmith was greeted by four girls instead of the two that had set out earlier. "Huh?"

"I'm Asuna, its good to meet you." Sticking her hand out with a smile, Asuna was the picture of sophistication.

"Lisbeth," the girl replied bluntly not taking the hand. "You can call me Liz."

Blinking Asuna slowly retracted her hand.

"You have to be nicer Liz," Liten reproached her. "They're teaching us how to fight."

"Oh!" Liz reacted in excitement. "Does that mean we'll move onto the ore dungeons soon?"

"I'm Sachi by the way."

"Hey," Lisbeth beamed. "So, does it?"

"If you mean the Copper Caverns," Asuna answered slowly, "don't plan on entering it."

"Well that's one of them," Liz answered confused, "but why not?"

"Let's just say it wasn't balanced correctly." Sachi answered, anger and fear thick in her voice.

"You've been there?"

"Not personally," Sachi denied, "but I've heard the stories."

"Well the info broker I bought the information from said it was the best place for mining copper," Liz retorted.

Unsure how to answer, Sachi and Asuna looked at each other. "If you value your life, never enter that dungeon."

Face blanching, Liz nodded.

"Enough talking," Silica pouted, "let's go to the next town!"

"Ah sure." Liz answered, rolling up her mat.  
"Your coming?" Sachi asked in surprise.

"Of course!" Liz shot back. "I'm not going to be left behind to twiddle my thumbs!"

"Can you fight?" Asuna asked worried for the girl.

"Duh," Liz scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm already level three from the blacksmithing experience."

Flipping through her menu Liz donned near identical gear to what Liten was wearing. Throwing the scroll into a holder across her back, Lisbeth indicated she was ready to go.

Shrugging at each other, Sachi and Asuna led them to Horunka.

* * *

_Thursday December 10__th__, 2022_

"Orlando," Naruto greeted the boy, shaking his hand.

"Thank you for the opportunity, Naruto," the boy answered back quietly, nerves battling excitement. Argo had found the group and recruited them for Naruto. The party had only recently hit level seven and were still fresh, however, they were the best Naruto could find.

Looking over the group one more time, Naruto was confused, "where is your sixth member?"

"Ah, Nezha…" the group looked at each other, unsure how to answer.  
Eyebrow raised, Naruto waited patiently for the group to explain.

"W-well… he has an FNC, so we were helping him train throwing knives, but…"

"He decided to become a blacksmith," one of them finished with a shrug. Enkidu, Naruto remembered after a moment.

"I see…" Naruto answered, unsure what an FNC was but the issue was the same. The party was down a member. He was already planning on giving them Shivata and Hafner, another survivor from Diavel's party, but he'd have to find another if he wanted to bring them to eight.

"It's no big deal though, we're good with just the five of us…" Orlando told Naruto with a strange expression on his face.

"Hmm?" Puzzled at the strange blowing off, Naruto stared hard at Orlando. It was very hard to hide emotions in SAO Naruto had learned. One's facial expressions tended to be blown out of proportion. "Do you have something to tell me?"

"N-no," Orlando stuttered, "I'm not hiding anything!"

Noticing his mistake Orlando blushed while his party mates facepalmed their leader's mistake.

"I wouldn't normally pry into personal business, but this sounds serious. You won't be allowed in the raid unless you at least give me an overview about what's up."

Head hanging, Orlando looked at his party. After a short, whispered conversation, he turned back to Naruto. "A man came and talked to us yesterday while we were sitting at a pub…"

Again, looking at his party Orlando seemed at a loss of what to say.

"He was very charming," Gilgamesh admitted, "his laugh just seemed to put you at ease."

"And?"

"He showed us a technique for making money, it relies on having a blacksmith with weapon proficiency."

Suspicion mounting, Naruto waved him on.

"Basically, you can replace a good weapon with a spent one."

"Spent?" Naruto inquired.

"Er, that is a weapon with no upgrade attempts left." Orlando hastily explained.

"I see… So, the blacksmith changes out someone's weapon with a lower value replicate, but how do they not realise?"

"That's the beauty of the strategy," Beowulf interrupted sadly, "the upgrade attempt breaks the spent weapon."

"You weren't actually going to use this, were you?" Naruto whispered, thinly veiled rage blazing in his eyes.

Flinching back, Orlando tried to defend himself. "W-well, it isn't explicitly stopped by the system, and we need the money to catch up. Nezha was excited to finally be worthwhile…"

Trailing off, Orlando swallowed as he saw his words weren't working. The arguments that the cloaked man had persuaded them with so easily sounded like lame excuses now.

"So, the plan is to steal from the front liners until you're too powerful to argue against? It's almost brilliant."

Hanging his head in shame, the legend braves looked miserable.

"Thank you for telling me. You will have seven members in your party, I don't have time to find you an eighth. One last question, who was this cloaked man?"

"We don't know. We never saw his face. He just told us about the strategy and left…"

Eyes narrowing, Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why impart a technique that has the potential of making someone tons of money, and leave without saying anything? Deciding he'd talk to Argo about it later, Naruto brought the legend braves to the raid practice.

"Oh, I don't know if it's important, but he kind of reminded me of you. You have the same sort of aura." Shrugging, Orlando was unsure how to express the feeling he had gotten from the man.

* * *

"Reminds him of me…" mumbling to himself, Naruto overlooked the raid practice. In all, it was more of a social event to get the participating members to know each other. Better relations would lead to better teamwork.

"Why the long face?" Arthur asked easily, coming over to visit.

"I had an interesting conversation with the legend braves," Naruto admitted.

"Oh, what about?" Arthur asked only partially interested.

"A man who reminds them of me."

"Huh?" Arthur grunted. "In what way? Appearance?"

"No," Naruto denied. "Charisma, or aura. It was just a feeling Orlando had."

"Oh… mysterious," Arthur chuckled. "Another you could really help speed up the floor clearing."

Eyes widening in trepidation, Naruto's mind finally connected the pieces. "What if, hypothetically… I was working against the clearers. Trying to prevent you from clearing the game?"

Shivering, Arthur tried to joke it off. "We would only get as far as you let us, if I'm being honest. I can't imagine a scenario in which we win that encounter."

"Then it's a good thing I'm here," Naruto answered with a laugh. Putting his worries away for now, Naruto focused on the more immediate problem, Illfang.

* * *

_Friday December 9__th__, 2022_

Standing before the stone double doors once again, Naruto was stunned by the differences in raids. The last raid had been six separate parties. This time, there were only five parties, but the comradery was much higher. Despite the short amount of time spent together, Klein and Agil, as well as Keita and Orlando were quickly becoming fast friends.

The only disruption to this, was the fifth party. A vengeful Kibaou brought along his strongest seven to, "avenge Diavel". This had caused the girls in his party to roll their eyes at him, but Naruto didn't care. All they had to do was stand around and deal with a single kobold mob. He had the hard job this fight. Naruto had no intentions of yielding Illfang's aggro at any point. Close to forty minutes of intense fighting where any mistake could spell death. It was a fool's errand; it was also his duty.

Diavel's death was out of his hands, he understood that. But Diavel's party, three innocent players, were only guilty of following instructions. Images of the family they left behind, or the girlfriends they may have had, rushed through Naruto's head once again. Shaking his head to prevent them from disabling him. He had to be focused to do this. For them Naruto would do this.

Giving the other 39 members of the raid a once over, Naruto nodded in satisfaction. Despite being forced into retreat last time, nerves appeared to be under control. Clearing his throat Naruto gave the speech he had worked out ahead of time.

"I would like to thank you all for showing up today. Its takes great courage to face a foe of this caliber. Have no doubt though, all forty of us will end today on the second floor. Feel free to run out of the room if you get scared. I hold none of you responsible in helping me to defeat this boss."

Surprised murmurs passed through the group at these words.

"Indeed, I will attempt this fight even if you all leave right now. Is anyone leaving?"

Looking around the room Naruto saw only resolute gazes staring back at him. Nodding his head in appreciation, he continued.

"The battle plan will be this, Parties C, D, and E will each deal with a kobold trooper. These are the parties led by Agil, Orlando, and Kibaou respectively. Parties A and B will deal exclusively with Illfang. I will hold aggro on Illfang for the entire fight. The parties will switch around me to avoid taking aggro."

"What?"

"No way!"

"Nar-boi…"

Ignoring the complaints, Naruto held up his hand for silence. "If I need a switch, I will call for one, until them I will hold aggro. Obviously, we have a lot more manpower on the troopers than we need. Depending on timings I may call other parties to switch in for a round if they signal to me that they want to. Any questions?"

"What are we going to do about that katana?" Kibaou drawled in his distinctive kansai accent. "You haven't been clear about that." Delivered perhaps harsher than Kibaou meant, the question was still valid.

I've studied the list of skills that Argo got and will block them."

This simple answer floored most of the members present. The list was basically skill names and the hit number. Even with knowing the starting positions of the skills, it was impossible to know what skill would come next. More than that, it was ludicrous to imagine one would be able to react to skills they'd only read about. At least for most people. Naruto's plan was to instantly react to the blade moving and intercept it. If he was able to survive through a couple rounds of sword skills, then everything would get easier as he learned the speed and power of the moves.

Straightening his back, Kibaou faced the door with a stoic face. Nodding his approval, Naruto joined Kibaou in facing the door. Unsheathing his sword, Naruto pushed open the double doors with his left hand.

Walking into the room, Naruto got to experience the same animation. The torches followed by the floor lighting up. Instead of charging, Naruto let Illfang meet him closer to the exit. This had the advantage of not only an easier retreat, but it put the trooper spawns further away.

Rushing them in that triangle formation, Naruto sidestepped the leading kobold, leaving it for Agil who followed closely behind him. Finally, face-to-face with the lord of the first floor, Naruto wondered if he had miscalculated. The prospect of facing it down and dodging its skills seemed almost easy from the comfort of his inn room. Feeling Illfang's hot breath as it stared down at him was quite a different matter.

Bellowing, the kobold lord charged up one of his repetitive hatchet skills. Instinctively, Naruto dodged it. Without a shield, Naruto had no hate generation skills. This meant he had to deal significant enough damage to it that it would stay on him and not switch to someone else. 'Slant' was the skill with the shortest post-motion delay. So, Naruto used 'Slant' after 'Slant'. After a minute of ravaging Illfang, he finally signalled his party to start attacking as well.

Five minutes later, Naruto was still dodging axe skills. Not bothering to even raise his sword, he casually stepped around the brutal swings that took large chunks out of tanks in the previous fight.

"D out, E in." the words Naruto had been dreading he finally spoke. Kibaou had signalled that his party wanted in on the rotation, so Naruto put them in. He would remove them in a minute so that they would be available to fight the next set of troopers.

Sweating nervously, Naruto continued to dodge almost unconsciously around Illfang. Finally, just as he was getting ready to take them out, they did it. A knife wielder with a nervous face, unleashed not one, but two sword skills during Illfang's delay. It wasn't enough to overpower the hate Naruto had built; it was enough for Illfang to acknowledge it.

'Pivoting Death'. The rather unoriginal named skill did precisely what it was foretold to. Pivoting 180 degrees, Illfang brought his axe down upon the poor dagger user's head.

Groaning at the person's stupidity, Naruto did something moronic enough to match. As the hand axe came within reach of Naruto, he grabbed the handle with his left hand. Ignoring his weight, the skill went off as expected.

Feeling like his arm was getting ripped out of its socket, Naruto used the momentum to make sure his body would hit first. Releasing his hold, Naruto hit the dagger user and the two of them went tumbling across the floor.

In SAO, damage is taken when your body hits a surface at a speed higher than your strength can absorb. This includes things like fall damage or getting thrown by a boss.

Bouncing back to his feet, Naruto's health stopped in the yellow. Starting with full, he lost over half his health to correct this idiot's mistake. Casting a quick glance at the still prone dagger user, Naruto saw he lost health too. While not as severe, Naruto was just glad the damage didn't turn him orange. It must have counted his body as an attack from Illfang, Naruto reasoned.

Stepping away from the dagger user so they wouldn't get involved in Illfang's next skill, Naruto skillfully dodged around the edges of the axe's hitbox. "E out, A in." The sweet words finally spoken, Kibaou retreated with a scowl at the dagger user to prepare for the kobolds.

With a lightning quick 'Parallel Sting' from Asuna, Illfang roared out his defiance. Three more troopers literally appeared from thin air around the throne and ran for their master. Getting intercepted halfway, Illfang was left alone at the mercy of Naruto's party.

Passing through the second bar without incident, Naruto grew increasingly worried as the end of the third bar approached. It was do or die time. With the increased damage from his parties tricked out gear, they were on pace to empty the first three health bars in only 21 minutes.

"D out, E in!" calling the switch early, Orlando frowned at Naruto but obeyed the order. Naruto had put E in early, so he could get them out early. Naruto wanted Kibaou and, more importantly, his goons nowhere close to Illfang when he entered his final form. Keeping a close eye on the dagger user, Naruto was pleasantly surprised that they were efficiently adding on damage without overextending. If that was enough to fix their habits then it was worth it, Naruto decided with a grin.

It's time, Naruto thought solemnly to himself. He had done it up until now, but that was basically warm-up. The vertical skills were nothing but bait. They drew you into surrounding Illfang. When the nodachi comes out this spelt death as they had learned painfully last time.

"E out, A in." voice cracking slightly with nerves, Naruto swallowed nervously one last time. The last time he'd get for nerves. After that, it would be ten minutes of torture.

As Illfang flung his weapons away, Naruto opened his menu. It was time for his last secret. Unnecessary until now, Naruto equipped a shield. Not just any shield, the 'Sturdy Tin Beetle Shield' that was now upgraded as well. Shining dully in the light, Naruto and Illfang faced off again.

Not missing a beat, Illfang held his katana horizontal off to his right side. Reminiscent of Kriol's 'Hurricane Strike', Illfang's skill was far deadlier. Spinning out of it, the blade came down vertically. Once, twice, and thrice, Illfang's blade landed on Naruto's shield. If you had the reactions for it, the feint was slow really. Responding with a simple 'Slant', Naruto won the health trade.

Roaring, Illfang used a different skill. The list that Argo got had thirteen sword skills for the katana. Three of them Naruto had seen used against Diavel. The fourth he had just blocked easily. The fifth, however, was a different type of skill.

Starting in a high stance, Illfang swung his blade horizontally at head height from left to right. This was followed by another slash, right to left, a foot lower. Following this pattern for another two slashes, the four hit sword skill was nigh impossible to block. Unless you knew what was coming.

Naruto had barely slept engraining those skills into his mind. The skill 'Swift Dissection' was Illfang's ultimate counter to a single tank setup. Hitting the target four times from alternating directions at descending heights made it almost impossible to block. The last two slashes came at Naruto's waist and knees, respectively.

Shield arm too high from the first two, Naruto did what, by now, his party thought of as his signature move. He backflipped over the blade. Landing roughly, Naruto was still unaccustomed to the weight of the shield. Putting shield into his third skill slot, Naruto had been training in secret since the end of the last raid.

Experience for leveling up went down as you outleveled monsters, but weapon experience was constant. In this way, Naruto now had almost 100 points into the shield skill. In addition to the sheer defense the shield provided, Naruto took minimal to no damage when tanking Illfang's blows.

Confidence soaring, Naruto looked quickly at how the troopers were fairing. Despite Kibaou getting anxious and pulling his mob closer to the exit, everything was proceeding according to plan.

Plan foiled, Illfang charged up yet again another unique skill, 'Swallow Falls'. The two- hit skill would have carved an X into Naruto's torso if he hadn't prepared his shield in time.

Even with his incredible reaction time, the skill had been too fast. All the delay had been in the activation, the slashes had come at near hypersonic velocities. With a distinctive activation movement, however, Naruto knew he could counter it next time.

Rapidly drinking a health potion, Naruto followed that with 'Howl'. While it was most likely unnecessary, it wouldn't do to lose aggro now.

Warily facing the boss again, Naruto steadily stalked towards the recovered boss. Once again, Illfang lifted his blade to start a skill. This time, it was one Naruto knew the activation for, 'Floating Boat'. It was the first half of the two-part combo that killed Diavel. 'Floating Boat' knocked the target into the air where Illfang would kill them with 'Scarlet Fan'.

Unfortunately for Illfang, Naruto, unlike Diavel, was not stunned. Dodging the skill, Naruto called out, "one skill!"

Rushing in, Argo and Asuna used their fastest skills before rushing out. Illfang's final health bar was shortened.

Watching from afar, elation slowly filled the onlooking parties as they downed their respective elite troopers one by one. Face breaking into a smile, Agil wiped his eyes quickly before anyone could see. He had cried himself to sleep the night after the failed first raid. His hope of seeing his wife and his beloved café again had faded to zero. He knew a large portion of the raid blamed Naruto for that defeat, he didn't. The call was correct. No one there knew how to deal with the katana. Expecting a similar outcome, Agil was determined to bring the kobold down with him this time.

This, however, was a leader. Not even a man by society's standards, Naruto was leading the raid to victory. Signalling his group to head back to the main fight, a sound interrupted him. Looking back at the throne, Agil's face went blank as another three troopers spawned.

"Deal with them to the best of your abilities. If you need more people, just say the word." Naruto's voice rang out from the main fight. Calm and sure, the initially panicked parties settled down again. They could kill them before the next round spawned. Raising their weapons, they faced down the approaching kobolds.

"Tsk," Naruto complained upon taking more damage. The eighth skill had been too fast for Naruto to properly block. While the damage wasn't high, he was definitely inside kill range from a direct critical hit. Illfang was losing health, slowly.

If they surround him, he spams 'Whirling Wheel'. If they don't, then troopers continue to spawn at a regular interval as Naruto is steadily worn down. Something had to break. Gritting his teeth, Naruto looked for an opening, and found it.

Illfang started up another 'Swift Dissection'. Instead of trying to block the first blow, Naruto ducked under it. With a view of Illfang's unprotected side, Naruto hit it with a 'Horizontal'. Crying out, Illfang stumbled as he was knocked out his skill. Not giving the kobold a break, Naruto hammered it across the back with a 'Vertical'. "Hit it, all!"

Following his command, the seven members of his party hit Illfang with a skill. Falling to his knees, Illfang finally lost a large portion of health since switching weapons. With fire in his eyes, Illfang leapt into the air.

"Back out!" Naruto screamed at his party. Unfortunately, only Asuna, Argo, and Ducker were able to get out. The other four all had longer delay's due to their weapons. 'Whirling Wheel' came down, and like a repeat of last time, all four that took the blow were stunned.

While it wasn't a long stun, it was long enough for Illfang to combo it into 'Floating Boat' and 'Scarlet Fan'. Landing, Illfang seemed to lick his lips before selecting the target he wanted to annihilate. His eyes fell on Tetsuo. Ignoring Naruto, who held the most aggro, Illfang landed 'Floating Boat' on the helpless tank.

"Stay calm and use your shield!" Instructions given; Naruto could only hope Tetsuo would listen. Diavel had swung wildly, leaving himself open to 'Scarlet Fan'. If Tetsuo stayed calm and blocked the skill, he would be fine. Staying calm while flying through the air and knowing your life is on the line is easier said than done.

Putting his level head on display, Tetsuo made no attempt to activate a sword skill. Illfang's blade, covered in a bloody red glow, produced afterimages as it clashed into Tetsuo's flying form. Two metallic screeches later, Tetsuo crashed roughly unto the hard ground. Health stopping on the edge of green, Tetsuo boasted high health and defense and it showed. As one, the raid breathed a sigh of relief as the first death was narrowly avoided.

Illfang, meanwhile, took a 'Vertical' down its back from an unhappy Naruto. "How dare you ignore me, you bastard?" Continuing to throw insults at the floor boss, Naruto pushed Illfang away from the recovering members of his party.

"Party A out, B in." Asuna supplied since Naruto seemed to have forgotten to.

Moving in, Klein signalled his party to wait a respectful distance away. No one was keen to take Tetsuo's spot in trying to survive Illfang's full combo.

"Now!" Naruto told them, seeming to have regained his head. Stopping 'Swallow Falls' on his shield, both were vulnerable. Only one of them had teammates, however. Taking the skills from Klein's party, Illfang's last health bar finally reached the halfway point.

Bellowing at the unmovable swordsman in front of him, Illfang raged. Sword skill after sword skill. Not noticing the return damage, Illfang was focused on removing the person who had not dropped aggro since the fight began.

Regardless of the skill chosen, or the combination he used them, it was pointless. Naruto had solved his katana skills. Now that he had matched up activation stances to skills, Naruto was invincible. Dodging the low hit number skills, cancelling the high hit numbers, his strategy was flawless. No matter what Illfang's AI came up with it couldn't get over one unchangeable fact, the nodachi was too light. It couldn't get through the shield Naruto had spend a vast sum of money on improving.

"B out, A in." Naruto called once their health had finished recovering. "B go kill troopers."

"Yes sir!" Klein agreed and ran to help the others. As Illfang's health fell, so did the timer of trooper spawns. Right now, there were six built up with another three due to spawn.

"Sachi, Sasamaru, when I block 'Swallow Falls', attempt to hit his armpits."

"Uh, alright?" the two hesitantly agreed. The order seemed… strange to the others. While enemies had weak spots that had lower defense or higher critical chance, this still seemed odd.

"Just trust me." Naruto shouted quickly, as Illfang cued up the mentioned skill. Lifting his shield, Naruto stood there and absorbed the descending slashes.

Arms paused extended, Illfang's armpits remained exposed to the spear users. Using the accurate, 'Thrusting Strike', both spear users successfully impaled the boss.

"Keita, 'Decisive Strike'!" Naruto ordered as the kobold lord stumbled. The slowing skill landing heavily on its unarmored stomach, Illfang fell to one knee. Waiting for this moment, Naruto already had 'Rage Spike' cued for this moment.

Launching his body into the air, Naruto brought his blade down hard upon Illfang's head. The critical hit took a chunk out of the boss's health and induced a stun.

The rest of the party jumped on this chance, firing off their strongest skill. Health bar dropping precipitously, Illfang hovered on the verge of death.

Roaring his defiance, Illfang fell back on his tried and true, 'Whirling Wheel'. Watching the boss jump into the air, Naruto donned a nasty smile. He'd seen it twice now. Prepping 'Slant', Naruto met the boss's near invisible blade with his own.

Rearing back in surprise, Illfang was confused. This skill never failed, it couldn't. Illfang continued to believe this up until the moment Naruto's 'Anneal Blade' cleaved his head apart to end his life.

Sheathing his sword, Naruto stumbled slightly as his exhaustion caught up with him. Sweating profusely, Naruto was panting from mental fatigue.

"Congratulations," Agil told him in perfect English. "You've single-handedly restored faith to the people waiting."

"No," Naruto disagreed, "Thank you, thanks to all of you for coming. You had no reason to put your trust in me, yet you all did. We have done what we set out to do. Let us go to the second floor and give the good news."

"In the beta," one of Agil's friends spoke, "the victorious raid, would activate the teleport gate and meet the people coming in from the lower floors."

"Then let's do that!" Sachi nodded excited. Giddy to have survived another day. Jumping at Naruto, Sachi pulled him in for a long kiss.

Breaking apart, the couple was greeted to appreciative cheers from the surrounding raid group. Sneaking in unnoticed, Argo snuck a quick peck on Naruto's lips as well before dashing off. This event, however, stunned the raid into silence.

Sighing at Argo's theatrics, Naruto turned his attention to the item his work had won him, 'The Coat of Midnight'. Deciding it couldn't hurt, Naruto equipped the item.

The reactions Naruto received were polar opposites. While the majority of the raid murmured their appreciation of the slick black coat, Sachi and Asuna burst into giggles. Glancing at Argo, Naruto was relieved to see she was just as confused about this sequence of events as he was.

"Black swordsman indeed."

Shaking his head at the overheard whisper, Naruto decided not to comment on it. Walking to the stairs, Naruto led the 40-man raid to the second of Aincrad. His new coat flapping behind him all but sealed a nickname he hadn't asked for.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey All!

Sorry about the delay after part 1. Only four months late, fat better than George R. R. Martin :P

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the death of Illfang.

See Ya!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Another week another chapter.

I'm putting this at the beginning as a sort of warning. I tried to change the style a bit in this chapter and shuffle around to different perspectives more. Hopefully it's alright.

Also, I really suck at writing bad guys. Oh, well. Enjoy

-asdf1

* * *

Chapter 2

_Saturday December 10__th__, 2022_

"Cousin…" Suguha's soft voice was barely audible against the backdrop of the beeping instruments. The rays of the early morning sunshine hit the boy laying prone, illuminating the tanned skin. Hours spent outside had yet to fade even a month into this comatose state.

Currently, Suguha was expected at kendo practice. However, she couldn't bring herself to go. Ever since that tournament, Suguha found it hard to lift a shinai. Too many memories of Kazuto. She had tried to compete, despite only learning the day before that Kazuto had got trapped in the horrible incident that had broken worldwide news. She'd lost in the second round. Badly.

Tears in her eyes, she could barely see her opponent. Swinging wildly, she had disqualified herself in record time. All she could focus on was why he wasn't there. He should have been there.

And now yesterday… news had leaked that the first boss had been defeated. This was supposed to be happy news, but it had crushed Suguha. From the information released to the public, Sword Art Online was home to the floating castle Aincrad. Each of Aincrad's floors stood 100 metres high, with a total of 100 floors, Aincrad stretched for over 10 kilometres.

A month of pain later, and they were only on the second floor. The impossibility of it all had convinced some family members to forcibly rip the nerve gears off the players heads. Inevitably, all who tried died. It was only one or two, but it still made the news. Everything about SAO made the news Sugu thought bitterly. The press circled like vultures as the incident became a worldwide phenomenon.

The miracle of Kayaba's genius turned into a deathtrap. Sugu still couldn't wrap her head around it. Sugu wanted to smooth his hair, to whisper into his ear, but that damned helmet encased his head like a parasite. It was hard to imagine that his conscious was in a different world.

"I wish I was with you cousin…" Suguha whispered stroking his hand. It was true, she knew her parents would cry, but she wished she was there. But it was not Sugu who got to be there for him, it was that other girl, Sachi, Suguha thought bitterly.

Suguha still remembered Kazuto's promise to her. That he would show her the virtual world. But she hadn't won the tournament, she didn't deserve a NerveGear, and yet… she wanted to experience it. This virtual world which had trapped her beloved cousin.

"Suguha?"

Looking up, Suguha stared at Kazuto's parents, Yukito and Aoi. Standing up, Suguha bowed deeply to them. "Sorry for coming without permission."

"No, you're welcome whenever of course," Aoi assured her, wrapping her into a tight hug. "I know he enjoys your visits."

"What do you mean?" Suguha asked confused. "The NerveGear blocks signals from the outside from reaching the brain."

"It does indeed," Aoi agreed.

"But not all signals need to reach the brain to have an effect." Yukito added with a smile.

"But that's for stuff like touching a hot stove." Suguha countered still confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Chuckling, Aoi took the seat on the other side of the bed and stroked her son's hand as Suguha had been doing. "The NerveGear can prevent the sensation of something like this from reaching Kazuto, but it can't remove the memory of it. His heart will know. When he needs strength to push through, we'll be there to provide him with it."

* * *

_Friday December 9__th__, 2022_

"Ugh," Naruto groaned, collapsing onto his bed in Urbus. It had taken hours. Hours of congratulations and shaking hands with the people coming through the teleport gate. Then the raid party had hosted a celebration. It was eleven at night and Naruto had just gotten the opportunity to relax. Unfortunately, the girls had other ideas. All three off them stood there, arms crossed.

"How could you do this to us?" Sachi all but screamed at him.

"Why didn't you trust us?" Argo demanded. "You didn't just suddenly get that kind of experience with a shield."

"We could have helped." Asuna finished.

"It's not that I didn't trust you… It's that it was my responsibility. I didn't want you to worry."

"You didn't think we were worried when you told us you were tanking Illfang for THE ENTIRE FIGHT!" Sachi screamed, chest heaving.

"Sachi…" Naruto breathed out as the tears ran down her face.

"I-I'm sorry." Sachi apologized. "but you should let us help too. You had tanks that didn't end up doing any tanking."

Getting out of bed, Naruto wrapped the girl in a hug. "I needed this for myself. I needed proof that I deserved to lead, that I was capable of it. I'm sorry."

Nodding into his shoulder, Sachi let some of her worry fade away, the terror that Naruto would plan on doing that to every boss.

"We should get some sleep. This floor won't wait for us to clear it."

"About that Nar-boi…" Argo brought up slowly. "There's something on this floor I think I should tell you about."

"Martial Arts, huh?" Naruto chewed thoughtfully thinking about the information Argo had imparted on him. "It sounds helpful, but only if I remove the shield for it. It almost sounds like its compensation to one-handed weapons with no shield."

"I don't know how strong it is," Argo admitted truthfully. "I found the quest giver but gave up on completing the quest."

"Why?" Asuna asked curiously.

"Well, I tried for about an hour," Argo answered with a small smile, "but when I calculated the durability decrease in the boulder, I estimate a time of about thirty-six hours to complete it."

"So, probably three days to complete the quest. Could probably stretch it out to six or so if it's near a teleporter and do other things in the meantime."

"It's not," Argo denied. "It's about as far out of the way as it could be, hidden in the mountains on the north-northeast corner of the floor."

"Tsk," Naruto clicked irritably. "I'll decide in the morning. In the meantime, let's get what sleep we can."

"Okay!" the three girls chimed in harmony.

* * *

_Saturday Dec 10__th__, 2022_

Gathered around the square were all the prominent players SAO had to offer. If you weren't in the square it was safe to say that you weren't a frontliner. Only about half of the players who had participated exclusively in the failed raid were present. Apparently, the other half were still chewing over Naruto words.

Oddly enough, Naruto thought his biggest supporter was Kibaou. Before Naruto had even shown up, Kibaou crushed multiple complaints from the players who weren't at the death of Illfang. Every player who had been at the second raid now unanimously accepted his leadership.

Reminding himself that their lives were in his hands, Naruto started off the boss meeting telling them what Argo had conveyed last night, Martial Arts.

"I'd like to here the party leaders' thoughts on pursuing this skill." Ending it there, Naruto waited patiently for the parties to talk among themselves before conferring their decisions back to him.

Stepping forward, Agil gave voice to his feelings, "We think that it's too much time right now to sacrifice you for. We believe that it is worth pursuing however, and that someone should go and get it. From that we can decide on how much time we should spend acquiring the skill."

"A logical decision," Naruto replied amiably. "Next?"

"Any skill that takes that long to acquire must be worth it," Kibaou argued. "We think everyone should go there today and stay there until everyone has it."

"I see, anyone else?"

"We agree with what Agil said. We need someone to get it. Nevertheless, I just don't see it being worthwhile on anyone in heavy armour."

Nodding gratefully to Klein, Naruto collected his thoughts. "I've come to a decision. I want volunteers, Ideally, three or four to go and get Martial Arts. You need to have a skill slot you are either currently not using or are willing to convert to Martial Arts. Well?"

"I'll go!" Ducker agreed instantly, happy to be of use.

"I will too," another dagger user added, stepping forward. Naruto identified him as the man whom he had to save during the Illfang fight.

"Make that three," Arthur added with a smile.

Nodding at his friend gratefully, Naruto was glad Arthur was going along. Not only would he get an unbiased opinion from Arthur, he would learn if the skill was any good for people with a two-handed weapon.

"Anyone else?" Naruto asked when no one was coming forward.

"I suppose I'll go as well." Asuna answered stepping forward.

Giving her a smile, Naruto concluded the meeting quickly, giving the parties his expectations for the next three days.

* * *

_Sunday Dec 11__th__, 2022_

_I fucking hate my life._ Reading Arthur's message, Naruto felt the headache arrive that had been threatening for the past day. While SAO didn't have pain signals, the numbing shock from punching the rock was apparently very discomforting. So, while it didn't technically hurt, the sensation made one wary of punching the rock again.

To keep it up for twelve hours a day, three days in a row… Naruto understood Arthur's message. Halfway through his second day, Arthur and crew weren't happy. Even Asuna's insane level of focus was being steadily worn down by the mind-numbingly boring and unpleasant task they had volunteered for.

Strangely, it was apparently Ducker who remained the only positive one out of the four. Something about living up to Naruto's expectations, Arthur said. The other dagger user, Joe, Naruto had learned, continued to sulk and punch his rock slowly. Already, he was falling behind the other three.

Refocusing on his surroundings, Naruto was currently eating at a small restaurant in Marome, a village almost halfway through the floor, similar to Horunka on the first. Deciding there was nothing with enough experience near Urbus, and to avoid all of the people coming through from the first floor, Naruto had moved his parties over to Marome.

"How is leveling going?" Naruto asked the furiously typing girl beside him.

Continuing to type, the girl appeared to be ignoring him, but Naruto knew better. Continuing to write her strategy guides, Argo was a force of nature when it came time to type them out. A few minutes of silence later, Naruto finally received an answer.

"Good, apparently. A large portion of the players are nearing level seven."

"Excellent," Naruto nodded with a smile. "I'm sure your information is speeding things up."

Snorting, Argo rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, it is Nar-boi. Also, you better appreciate this, I could have made tens of thousands of cor selling this information you're casually giving away."

"We've debated this ad nauseam Argo. If we hold everyone together as one unified force, our chances significantly increase."

"I know, I know," Argo relented. "But you know that means, right? It puts everything on you. If you die during a raid, everything will fall apart."

"I have no plans on dying Argo." Naruto told her gently. "But if I do, I have already told Arthur I expect him to lead in my absence."

"You think he'll be able to just shake off your death and gain command?" Argo asked astonished.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it's better than not having a contingency plan in place. Besides, you won't get rid of me that easily."

"Ugh," Argo groaned sarcastically, "one confession and now I'm a glorified secretary."

Chuckling, Naruto stroked the girls back, enjoying her warmth.

Moving her chair closer, Argo rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, a moment of peace at last.

Keeping the motion up, Naruto felt his tension roll away. Even if it still didn't make a lot of sense to him, he was happy like this. Closing his eyes, Naruto enjoyed five minutes of peace.

* * *

"I'm telling you, it's not worth it!"

"What does that mean?"

The hushed conversation took place just down from the boulders where the Martial Arts teacher was located. Joe had finally gotten a chance to sneak away from the others.

"I mean this Naruto guy is stronger than you!"

Joe's whispered shout silenced the figure in the black poncho. Almost blending in perfectly with the inky night, the spectre-like appearance was the stuff of nightmares.

"Even after our duel? You still think that?"

Shivering, Joe thought back to how he had first met this man. Someone in his party was trying to do the 'Forest of the Medicine' quest to receive an Anneal Blade when their party was set upon by Nepenthe's. It was obviously the work of someone breaking open a fruit.

Fighting desperately, one by one, Joe's party members fell. Surrounded by the last three, Joe knew he was dead. That was when this man called out.

"Looks like you're in a bit of a pinch. How about a deal. I help you out of this, then you help me, sound good?"

Begging tearfully Joe had accepted instantly. Stepping forward, the man seemed to glide across the ground. Luring out attacks and then countering. The sophistication spoke to years of combat training.

When the Nepenthes were dead Joe was still on the ground crying pitifully. He hadn't known his party members long, but they were still friendly. They had teamed up together in the Town of Beginnings. They had agreed together to try for an Anneal Blade, a highly sought-after one-handed sword.

"Now, now, it's time to dry those tears."

The man spoke in a friendly tone, the image of a smile just peering out from the darkness of his poncho.

"What do you want?" Joe asked fearfully.

"Well, you know what I think. Every good story needs a villain. Since Kayaba isn't here fulfilling his role, someone else has got to step up, you know?"

"That's insane!" Joe squeaked.

"Oh, really?" The man replied softly. "Well, I could find another Nepenthe if you disagree."

Shaking his head, Joe knew he was trapped. Walking out of the forest back to Horunka with his head bowed, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"One last thing," the man told him happily.

The duel that commenced was very one-sided. Despite both being dagger users, their skills were nowhere close.

Thoughts reaching this far, Joe asserted his position. "While I'm grateful to you for saving me, I'm telling you this is pointless. He is better than you."

Gritting his teeth, the man replied sharply, "perhaps I should finish what I started in that forest."

"What you started?" Realization dawning, Joe backed up, mouth gaping. "You broke the fruit."

"You seriously just figuring that out now?" The man laughed. "I'll send you more orders soon. This Martial Arts skill is good to know about, maybe I'll give you a reward. Can't have one of my few friends going unappreciated, you know?"

Chuckling the figure disappeared instantly into the night, leaving Joe alone on the mountain slope.

Feeling his face, it seemed to be stuck between a smile and his usual scowl. Even when basically admitting to murder to murder, the man seemed to be able to get inside your head. Convince you to do things. Chewing his cheek, Joe thought back to the other time he'd been saved, by Naruto.

Asking for nothing, Naruto had quite literally risked the raid, all to help him. The thought still baffled Joe. How could someone with that much strength, and power, help someone like him? Conversely, the man, only known as the boss to Joe, had asked many favours in return to a situation he had set up.

Bitterly thinking about the unjustness of it all, Joe knew whose side he was on, Naruto's. The problem was that if Joe didn't do as instructed, he would be killed. Hating his life, Joe trudged back up to where the others were sleeping.

* * *

_Monday Dec 12__th__, 2022_

Sidestepping the Trembling Ox, Naruto sighed. After the fight with Illfang, everything else was almost… disappointing. The raw intensity of the fight was still burned into his mind. To become one with his blade… it was indescribable. Even the fear of death had faded into the back of his mind. If there was one thing that had ruined the fight for him, it was the shield. It felt like a crutch. Something he had used to supplement his weaknesses. Even now, he left it in his inventory.

Unsure of why he felt this way, Naruto watched impassively as the Ox was finished off. "Good job everyone." Nodding to his party, Naruto keenly felt the lose of Asuna in the damage output. Her razor-sharp sword skills had outputted enormous damage while staying safe.

"Well that's one quest down," Sachi stretched while saying.

"Indeed, it is," Naruto agreed with a smile.

"You guys want to head back for lunch?" Keita asked the party.

"Yes please," Sasamaru agreed with a yawn. "I could use a break."

"You guys head back," Naruto told them. "I want to check something out."

"Can I come?" Sachi asked.

Shaking his head, Naruto denied her request. "Not this time. Go eat lunch, I'll meet you guys in the fields in an hour for the next quest."

Eyes full of concern, Sachi didn't argue any further.

Watching the receding backs of his party, Naruto felt a twinge of guilt. What he was going to do, wasn't necessarily safe, but the enemies would be weak enough that multiple disasters would have to occur in rapid succession for him to die.

Running across the fields, Naruto eventually arrived at his destination, the Wasp Fields. A part of the endless Savanah of the second floor, the wasp fields contained mainly Windwasps. Hoping for a challenge, Naruto had come here to practice.

Smirking at the first wasp, Naruto patiently waited for its opening skill. Parrying the thrust, Naruto hit its thorax with a swing. Finally having some fun against the faster enemies, Naruto let instincts take over: dodging, parrying, swinging. Four wasps down and he hadn't used a sword skill yet.

He understood how reckless this behaviour was… but it was fun. He sincerely enjoyed just playing the game as it was supposed to be, a game.

Mind wandering, Naruto slaughtered some more wasps before his pre-set alarm went off. Sighing, Naruto knew it was time to return. To the role of leadership that he had burdened himself with. The role that he knew he had to do but found uncomfortable.

Running over the endless terrain, Naruto headed for the land of Jagged Worms in what was sure to be a boring afternoon grinding experience.

* * *

"Hey Silica," Sachi greeted the girl with a smile.

"Sachi!" the girl replied excitedly.

Running up to her with pigtails bobbing, Sachi couldn't help but smile. The bubbly personality of the girl never failed to bring a smile to Sachi's face. Wrapping the girl in a friendly hug, Sachi was glad she had made the time to come visit her.

"Why are you all the way down here?" Silica asked after separating from the hug.

"I wanted to see you silly." Sachi answered with a smile. "Congratulations on hitting level six by the way."

"Thank you." Silica blushed. "I know it's nothing compared to you, but hopefully one day."

"Well, this floor may stall out for awhile, so you have a chance to close some of that gap pretty quick."

"Really!?" Silica asked excited. "Does that mean that I can fight this boss with you?"

"Uhh," Scratching her head, a habit she picked up from Naruto, Sachi was unsure what to say. "You'll probably have to be at least level 10 in order to fight the second boss. You may have issues getting that strong in time. Also, bosses aren't like normal monsters…"

"You're talking about the first raid, aren't you?" Eyes full of sadness, Silica bit her lip.

Seeing that she'd ruined the mood, Sachi rubbed the poor girls head. "It's alright. The great Black Swordsman will deal with it, right?"

"Of course, he wi…" Halting her words, Silica started to pout. "You're teasing me!"

Laughing at the adorable girl, Sachi assured her. "No, he will save us all. I believe in him."

"You know him…" Breathless with wonder, Silica gaped at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ah," Sachi relied awkwardly. "W-well… it's not like I know know him…" Trailing off Sachi knew she'd been caught. She wasn't sure how to reveal to Silica that the same Black Swordsman she admired was her boyfriend.

Gritting her teeth, Silica spoke angrily. "I thought we were friends. But you're treating me like a child! Like I'm incompetent!"

"Sorry," bowing her head to the upset girl, Sachi realised something. She'd been projecting her own fears onto the small girl. Since Sachi was scared of the bosses, she had decided for Silica that she should be scared as well.

Apparently, Silica had been out hunting and hadn't gotten to meet the raid group when the first floor was cleared. Therefore, she didn't know of her closeness to Naruto. "I don't know how to tell you this… but that boyfriend I talked about when I met you. It's him."

Sitting down with a thud, Silica stared into nothingness as she processed her words. Mixtures of disappointment and excitement crossed her face in patterns.

"He's taken…" Sorrow was the final emotion that took the girl. She finally had a route to her idol only to learn it was useless after all.

"Aren't you being a bit dramatic?" Sachi asked alarmed. "I mean, you can still get to know him."

"You promise?" Silica demanded, hope starting to return.

"I promise you can meet him," Sachi answered her with a smile. "I also promise that if you and Liten level up you'll be part of the next raid."

"Thank you!" Silica cried, pulling Sachi into a hug. "I promise not to flirt with him!"

"That would be much appreciated," Sachi agreed with a laugh. "I can't compete with your cuteness."

Giggling, the girls spent the rest of the evening talking.

* * *

_Tuesday Dec 13__th__, 2022_

With the entire front line assembled once again in the arena of Urbus, Argo waited impatiently for the results. While she quite literally didn't have the time to complete the quest in the beta, admitting she didn't know how good the Martial Arts skill is hurt.

Hiding in an alcove on one of the multiple overhangs, Argo quite literally kept an eye on the proceedings. Listening to Naruto talk about the groups progress and how proud he was of their efforts was sleep-inducing.

Containing her yawn, Argo kept one ear on the conversation and used her vision to keep track of how the people were reacting. Overall, the reactions were positive, but boredom would set in soon if Naruto didn't wrap this up soon.

Thoughts reaching this point, Naruto changed the subject to hearing from those who had received the Martial Arts skill.

"Well done, Nar-boi," Argo whispered her appreciation, eyes watching closely as Arthur stepped forward to talk about the tribulations of receiving the skill and its usefulness.

With Joe only putting a few words on at the end, the major reaction from the raid was disappointment. Initiating a duel at one point, most of the raid couldn't see beyond the comparably low damage that Martial Arts skills put out. Argo didn't have the skill slot for it right now, but she had been impressed and knew Naruto had been as well.

What most of the raid group failed to see was the versatility that the skill provided. Argo had to admit that for the heavy tanks, it was nigh useless, but for everyone else, Argo thought it would be extremely useful if the time was put in to learn it.

"Well, I guess that's why your leading," Kibaou admitted ruefully. "This saved us quite a bit of time on struggling with nigh invincible rocks."

"Indeed," Naruto agreed magnanimously. "As you've seen, unless you have a free hand, you won't get full value out the skill. However, I would encourage you to notice the adaptability that this skill provides.

"In short, clearing of the floor will proceed with the scouting of the mid boss this very afternoon, all are welcome. The map data and a short writeup were handed out so everyone can find the instructor on their own time if they so wish. Do note, however, that the clearing of the game will not pause while you complete the quest. Thank you for your time."

Rolling her eyes, Argo sighed at Naruto's naivety. No one was going to go get Martial Arts after a parting like that. Narrowing her eyes, Argo focused on Naruto. Unless… he didn't want them to get it? Gaping at the inconspicuous boy in his new flowing black cloak, he easily commanded attention. Had he just repeated their expectations?

"I hadn't expected such maneuverings from you Nar-boi," Argo chuckled. Her heart swelled thinking about it. Together they were invincible. Naruto was the public face they trusted while Argo did all the background digging.

Soon they would rule this world, an unmovable force on top of everyone. The King and Queen of Aincrad. Reaching this point reality returned to Argo. She wasn't even his primary girlfriend. Sighing, Argo reined in her expectations.

A filthy rat. It was this very Martial Arts quest that had reminded her of that fact in the beta. Clenching her hands in anger, Argo put the tight leash back on her emotions. She wouldn't let her uncle hold her down any longer. She had escaped to a different world, and more importantly, Naruto liked and accepted her. And really, did she need anything else?

Happiness returning, Argo nimbly descended from her spot after the others had filed out.

* * *

"Seriously?" Naruto asked with a sigh. "After Kroil and Illfang, isn't this, a little easy?"

"It's not supposed to be a major barrier, Nar-boi," Argo reprimanded him with a sigh. "The field bosses are designed for a single party to take down. Likewise, the Bulbous Bow here can be brought low by a single party."

"I think I could do this myself," Naruto grumbled quietly so that only Argo could hear.

Turning around, Naruto cleared his throat and addressed the entirety of the assembled group. This included Naruto's two parties, the legend braves, Kibaou's primary party and Agil's group of friends. "I see no reason to wait to fight this thing. Tetsuo, Kunimittz, and I will act as primary tanks. Coper and Dynamm will fill in as backups. Rounding out the tank party will be Orlando, Kibaou, and Agil.

"The damage dealing party is Arthur, Asuna, Beowulf, Ducker, HokkaiIkura, Joe, Keita, and Wolfgang."

Pausing to take a breath, Naruto observed the reactions from those assembled. The primary reaction seemed to be confusion.

Clearing his throat, Naruto elaborated on his choices. "It is important for us to be able to work together with those unfamiliar to us. Our lives may depend on our knowledge of how we operate in a boss fight. Are there any questions?"

Seeing none, Naruto opened his menu and rearranged the parties to create the one specified. Equipping his shield, Naruto was ready.

There was a reason Naruto put himself in the tank party instead of the damage dealing one. The first was relying on Arthur to lead the other party. The second one, was a secret from all. This would be the fight where Naruto chose once and for all. While he recognized the potential that having a shield gave him, he hated its feel. For some reason it emanated a feeling of wrongness. Not the presence of something in his off hand, but that it was a shield. Naruto respected shield users and their role in the game, yet it still felt wrong to him.

So, this was the final test. If he decided that he had to keep it, he would. If it proved unnecessary, then he would delete the skill and go get Martial Arts. Mind decided; Naruto signalled Tetsuo to grab primary aggro on the Bulbous Bow.

The three of them absorbing the charge easily, Arthur led his party in to begin hacking at the boss' health. Bellowing in anger, the field boss attacked Tetsuo with a horn swipe combo. Absorbing the skill on his new Iron Kite shield, Tetsuo's health dropped imperceptibly. Hitting the bull with a cautious Slant, Naruto leapt back into position. The three of them forming a line for the boss to attempt to break.

With Tetsuo standing strong in the middle of them, Naruto and Kunimittz took less damage. After blocking another powerful charge, Naruto called for a switch. Leaping back, Naruto let Coper and Dynamm take over.

Performing admirably, Naruto finally got a chance to watch Coper work. Naruto wouldn't call him an exceptional player, and yet, there was something refined to his movements.

With a quarter of the boss's health left, its rage further increased. Switching in his last trio, Naruto was content to watch as bull that kept lowering its defense was finally slain. Unfortunately, Orlando got overzealous.

Stepping in front of Kibaou, the ambitious leader attempted to take the Last Attack bonus with a sword skill. Blocked by the boss's tusk, the Bulbous Bow reared up to crush Orlando with its hooves.

"Not on my watch!" Kibaou roared, placing his shield in front of the descending hooves.

"Or mine!" Agil echoed, adding his axe to the wall.

Absorbing the hit with little health lost, Naruto chuckled to himself. It seemed Diavel's death had left quite the effect on quite a few people.

Deciding he wouldn't let himself be outdone, Naruto dropped his shield and ran into the fray. Jumping off Agil's crouched shoulder. Height exceeding the Bulbous Bow's head, Naruto would have sworn its eyes widened in fear. Plunging his sword into the exposed nape, Naruto claimed the final hit of the fight.

* * *

Having arrived in Wigam, the first settlement after the floor boss for the night, Naruto was looking forward to sleep. Too many speeches had drained his energy. He wished he could just play the game with his friends.

"So? We aren't going to talk about it?"

"Huh?" Turning around, Naruto was greeted by his unhappy girlfriends.

"You left us out of the boss fight!" Sachi stomped, irate.

"Yeah, what was that about?" Argo asked.

Frowning Naruto was unsure what had brought this on. "I left the two of you out because I trust you enough to get along with others." Speaking slowly Naruto tried to assuage the girls' anger.

"We are your girlfriends, are we not?" Sachi asked, taking point on the argument.

Going deathly still, Naruto tried to contain his anger. "So, you expect preferential treatment?"

The quiet voice washed over Sachi and drained her anger leaving fear in its place. It was the same as before. Her pushing unreasonable demands on Naruto. Bowing her head, Sachi searched for some way to get out of this.

Snorting, Argo wasn't nearly as impressed. "Don't be like that Nar-boi. We expect you to consult us. We're on your side here."

"Then support my decisions!" Naruto roared at the girl. "I already have everyone's lives on my shoulders. I will make the choices I feel are necessary to save lives!"

Frowning, Argo shuffled her feet. "I'm sorry that's the way it came off. It just felt like you were slighting our contributions."

Sighing, Naruto collapsed on the bed. "I appreciate both of you very much. But it just wasn't logical to add you two. I wanted to reward the four who volunteered so they got to fight. Aside from that, I divided up the parties. I meant no insult."

"Thank you, Nar-boi." Argo whispered from beside his ear. Planting a kiss on his cheek, Argo joined him in bed.

"It seems I'm being selfish again," Sachi apologized. "If you need me to do something to make things easier for you, just let me know."

"Come sleep with me," Naruto answered in a sleepy haze. "That will help."

"Eep!" Squealing Sachi covered her bright red face. "Argo told you about the Ethics code?"

Jolted awake at the scream, Naruto concentrated on Sachi. "Ethics setting?"

"Uh… it's nothing." Diving into bed, Sachi hid her head in Naruto's shoulder.

Deciding he'd learn about it tomorrow, Naruto faded into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

_Tuesday Dec 13__th__, 2022_

Waking up early, Naruto stepped through the teleport gate to Urbus. He didn't regret the sleepless nights grinding out shield fighting experience, but Naruto had moved on. He needed to be more than a simple tank for his party. Martial Arts seemed like a blessing to Naruto. A logical excuse to get rid of his shield.

Trekking through the rocky terrain, Naruto enjoyed the silence. Leaving some messages with Arthur, Naruto had decided to do the quest now rather than trying to squeeze it in at a later date.

Sensing something amiss, Naruto drew his blade. Activating his searching skill, Naruto scanned the periphery.

"Well, it seems you noticed me," a smooth voice rang out, full of charm.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked harshly. In the early morning light, it was easy to hide among the shadows of the path. It was only a feeling that had stopped Naruto from walking into the man's trap.

"I've heard you're strong, so I have a proposition. A first strike duel, winner goes on to the Martial Arts skill, the other leaves."

"I have no reason to respect your demands." Naruto answered frostily.

"Hmm, true," the man answered, the hints of a smile visible beneath his hood. "But you will anyways. You've always wanted a challenge."

Pausing, Naruto contemplated the man's words. It's true, a first strike duel had no danger in it. But the problem was if he lost. Reaching his far, Naruto had to stop himself. He couldn't lose.

Nodding his agreement, Naruto waited for the prompt to appear. PoH, that was the cloaked man's name. Accepting the duel, Naruto waited patiently for the clock to tick down.

"I hear your quite the ladies' man," PoH talked easily. "I do hope you keep a close eye on them. You never know when an accident might happen."

Finally rattled, Naruto stared hard at the man in front of him. The black poncho, the easy voice… there was no doubt about it. He was the one who told the legend braves the strategy to make money. Gripping his blade tighter, Naruto resolved that he would make this man regret causing trouble.

Counter reaching one second, Naruto flew forward, sword blazing at head level. To his shock the man met his sword with a knife. A perfect parry. Replying in kind with a lightning thrust, Naruto darted backwards away from it.

Having put Naruto on the backfoot, the man pursued him, unrelenting in his stabs, not using a sword skill.

Backing up two steps then a third, Naruto finally found his rhythm. Noting the precise stabs and minute slashes, Naruto stopped retreating. A flurry of blades later and PoH jumped out of Naruto's reach.

"I surrender." PoH's voice came out in perfect English to Naruto's surprise. The whole exchange had barely taken half a minute. "Indeed, you are strong." PoH laughed before darting down the mountain.

Confused, Naruto decided to ignore it. Sheathing his sword, Naruto sent Argo a message informing her of the information.

* * *

"This sucks," Argo whined. Laying spread-eagle on one of the beds in the room, Sachi and Asuna nodded their agreements.

"I just got back from that quest and he leaves," Asuna pouted.

"Oh?" Argo teased. "Sad when Nar-boi's not around."

"Ah, I didn't mean it that way," Asuna flushed. "Just in general, you know?"

Sighing, Sachi held her head in her hands. "First you, and now I have to introduce Silica to him."

"Is that your brown-haired cutie?" Argo asked with interest.

Asuna nodded her confirmation. "She's a dagger user, travels with another girl named Liten and a blacksmith Lisbeth."

"Wait, three more girls!" Argo shouted. "I mean…"

"It's hard to say," Sachi grumbled. "Silica idolises him for the speech he gave. I think Lisbeth has turned to blacksmithing to cope, and Liten I'm unsure about."

"Ugh, I wish I could have gone with him." Argo grumbled.

"Same," Sachi complained bitterly. "And this business with this PoH character has me worried."

"I agree," Argo nodded. "someone who can keep up with Nar-boi in a duel is pretty scary."

"It's hard to imagine," Asuna admitted, voice trembling from images of a hooded man leering at her.

"It's alright," Sachi told them with a smile, "Naruto will protect us."

Frowning at the girl, Argo rebuked her, "We can't just wait around for Nar-boi to save the day. He has enough to deal with without this new problem."

"Well what are we supposed to do about it," Sachi countered.

"Information," Asuna and Argo asserted at the same time. Giggling slightly, Asuna waved Argo to explain.

"The guy can't be a ghost; he must sleep somewhere. Also, we know someone else who met him, the legend braves."

"Still…" Sachi hesitantly spoke. "It's risky to do it on our own."

"We are some of the strongest players in the game!" Argo shouted exasperated. "If we don't even do this, how can we be worthy of being Nar-boi's girlfriends?"

Biting her lip, Sachi looked at Argo's resolute expression. "Alright, I'm in."

"I'll come too if you'll have me." Asuna added on.

"The more the merrier." Argo answered with a smile. Scanning Naruto's message one more time under the pretense of information, Argo focused primarily on its ending. _PS. I can see why you didn't finish the quest, these whiskers are cute ;)_ With its being time to go, Argo forced herself to reply.

_If you think I'm cute with the whiskers, you should see me without them._

Satisfied with her reply, Argo moved to close her menu and follow the girls out the door. A notification stopped her though. Message from Naruto.

_I look forward to seeing you with nothing on_.

Gasping at the message, Argo's face went crimson. "You've really gotten better at this Nar-boi," she grumbled to herself. Closing the message, she hurried after the backs of the other two. She'd think of a reply later.

* * *

"Well?"

The question sounded impatient, but the voice was respectful. It conveyed how much respect the man had for the other that even after being forced to wait hours in the middle of the night, he still maintained a moderate tone.

"I had to determine how much of a problem this… Naruto is going to be." Emerging from the shadows, PoH looked little more than an apparition. A Reaper come to harvest souls.

"And?" The man asked. Shifting his head, bright brown eyes peered from underneath a metal coif.

"He's strong, but his attractions leave him vulnerable."

Gasping, the calm demeanor of the man broke. "Strong? You call me weak and sloppy, and this guy is apparently strong?"

PoH silenced him with one raised hand. "Fret not Morte, you'll get there."

"What now then?" Morte asked with a pout.

"We turn the charm on and recruit," PoH laughed, the melody calming and trustworthy. "Especially since I worry about how useful Joe will be. He's wavering."

"Disposing of him will be hard," Morte warned. "He could easily rat us out and hide in a town."

"Don't fear. Sone I'll bind him to us with chains he'll never be able to escape." Although no face showed under PoH's cloak, it was evident he was smiling. A twisted sneer that would send even battle-hardened men fleeing.

* * *

_Wednesday Dec 14__th__, 2022_

"Aargh!" Sending his spear forward with a shout, Arthur easily impaled the massive cow. Wiping the sweat of his brow, Arthur leaned heavily on his spear. The last few days had been especially challenging. Naruto had run off yesterday morning to get Martial Arts. In addition to that, the girls had refused to join them. Apparently having something important to do, they left the twelve boys to their own devices.

As a result, they were sulking their way through quests.

"It's so unfair!" Klein whined to no one in particular for the umpteenth time that day.

"Shut up Klein!" And for the same number times, Klein received the exact same reply.

"But I mean, even Asuna!" Klein whined. "Speaking of Asuna, did you make any progress on her during your time on the mountain?"

"No." Gritting out the word, Arthur tried to keep his cool. Arthur had tried to close the distance between him and the beautiful girl. But she wasn't having any of it. Asuna had spent most of her waking hours, obsessively punching the rock. Her fervor had driven the others to try and keep up. Regardless, she had still finished over two hours ahead of him. At night, Asuna walked away behind her boulder and slept there. Despite having chosen one next to her, she made it clear she didn't want to talk.

Clenching his fist from the memories, Arthur took his rage out on the next cow they came across. Diving forward recklessly, Arthur left himself in post-motion delay. Not letting the chance go, the trembling cow, impaled him with its horn.

Getting shot over twenty feet back, Arthur skidded to a stop face up. Groaning he observed his draining health bar. 70, 60, coming to a rest just over 50%, Arthur sighed at his stupidity. He let his emotions distract him. According to Naruto this is why Arthur was never able to beat him in kendo. Due to either nerves at the beginning of the fight, changing to anger at the end, the duels always ended in a one-sided affair.

"Here, let me help you."

"Keita?" Surprised not that someone was helping him up, but who was helping him up. Warily taking the hand, Arthur realized it was just the two of them. Everyone else was off dealing with the cow he'd attacked.

"Can I give you some advice?" Keita started.

Looking towards the fight, Arthur decided they didn't need him. "Sure."

"You're not the first guy to lose his girl to Naruto."

Rolling his eyes, Arthur was prepared to interrupt, when Keita continued,

"But you know what. I'm glad Sachi is dating him."

"What?" Twisting his head in surprise, Keita finally garnered all of his attention.

"Before, I was easy to anger. I looked at everything as a threat. I stopped caring about how she felt, or even why I liked her. Every day I was merely concerned with making her mine."

Stunned Arthur could only stare transfixed as Keita bared his secrets.

"But now, we're friends. We laugh and tell jokes. When Sachi wants to geek out she can come and talk to me."

"So, you're telling me to give up on Asuna?"

"Not exactly, I guess I'm not really giving you advice, just telling you my story. I was so caught up in my need to date her, that I forgot to be friends first. I'm sure Asuna has picked up on your feelings for her which makes her reluctant to talk to you. Nowadays we're so caught up in the concept of romance we forget that two people can simply be friends. I'm much happier now than I was before."

"Thank you, Keita. You're right. I've been so transfixed by her looks that I forgot I don't even know her."

"No problem. Though I have to say, I'm worried Naruto's habits will come back to bite him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" trailing off, Keita seemed unable to clarify his thoughts. "He's too nice to girls if you ask me. I wonder if one will come along and take advantage of him."

Opening his mouth, to tell him off, Arthur frowned. While it was true that Naruto is exceptionally good at reading people, he seemed to have a soft spot for women. "I think Argo and Sachi will be able to keep them away." Arthur spoke instead. Besides with how few women exist in SAO the chances of being used by one seemed incredibly low and not worth considering.

* * *

"Nothing," Argo complained bitterly. "We had two days to hunt this guy down and all we get is a silly story out of Orlando about the guy having a scary aura."

"Yeah, I know," Sachi sighed, rubbing the distraught girl's back.

"No, you don't! I'm an info broker, this is supposed to be my job and I can't even determine what town he was last in."

"Is it possible," Asuna asked slowly. "That he doesn't enter town. With accomplices…"

"Of course," Argo facepalmed, "someone is bringing him supplies. If it's urgent, he slips into town at night."

"How does he level up though?" Sachi asked curiously. "Grinding without quests is only so effective and he's obviously a high level."

"Argo already answered that," Asuna denied. "He can accept them when he sneaks into town."

"Hmm… it doesn't fully explain it though," Argo pondered. "Some of the quests shut down. Therefore, he'd only want to do the quests that give the most experience."

"You don't think he's…"

Nodding, Argo confirmed their theory. "He's hunting elite monsters."

"But solo?" Sachi asked bewildered. "That seems insane."

"If he has a close cohort…" Asuna trailed off, not wanting to follow that theory to completion.

"But what's the point of it all," Sachi complained.

"The weapon stealing, dueling Naruto, why?"

"At best, probably a role-player…" Argo answered slowly. "At worst, someone who is actively trying to get players killed and stop the progression of the game."

Shivering, Sachi's whole body trembled at the very thought.

"If we're right, it's more important than ever to track him down." Asuna told them. Fire burning in her eyes.

"What about tonight?"

"What about it?" Sachi asked.

"A stakeout," Argo explained with a roll of her eyes. "It's the last night before Naruto comes back."

"Could be fun," Asuna agreed with a smile.

With both girls looking expectantly at Sachi she melted under the pressure. "Fine!" Sachi sighed, throwing her hands into the air. "I still think the whole thing is a bad idea."

* * *

Taran, unlike Marome and Urbus, was built on a hill. As the nearest settlement to the labyrinth, the raid had moved here during the time Naruto was off getting Martial Arts. The sheer vertical walls were assessed by Argo as 'unscalable'. This left exactly one entrance. The path leading in winding its way up the side of the hill and was the only way in or out. In a word, it was perfect.

As a general rule, the cities got smaller the further you travelled from the Main one. Taran was no different. The hill barely contained 50 structures. This included several restaurants that doubled as inns, one blacksmith, and one potion seller. The remaining building were NPC houses for quest givers, player homes, and a couple for aesthetic purposes. To put it simply, there was nowhere to hide.

Giddy from the building tension, the three girls had decked themselves out in long black cloaks. Fading away into the background, only Argo possessed the Hide ability. This meant any player with Search would still see Sachi and Asuna with ease.

Nodding in unison, the girls split up to exact their plan. Establishing a party with only the three of them, they could communicate via party chat. Leaving it open was a mild distraction, but the time required to open the chat menu could be catastrophic. Utilizing Argo's Hiding ability, she was sent to stake out the entrance, the only place they could be sure the man would pass through. Asuna, the next fastest one was then designated responsible for observing the house of the quest giver that gives the best quest in town. Sachi then, was set to watch the inns. A thankless job, Sachi had to carefully observe everyone who passed by and determine if any of them were the people they were watching for.

_Anything?_

Sending the message quickly, Asuna fought to keep a yawn down. As the hours dragged on, she found her eyelids drooping more often. Now a little past 1 am, she was ready to call it quits. Were they chasing ghosts after all?

Biting her lip, Asuna tried to refocus her thoughts. However, they kept coming back to one thing. Naruto. She missed him. The words that one wouldn't be able to torture out of the proud girl were true. She'd had one brief conversation with the boy in the past five days. The startling difference from the previous weeks was… unsettling.

Why was he so important to her? Was it just because of Argo and Sachi? Somehow that answer seemed just a little short. She knew Naruto would never intentionally hurt them. So why? The answer that kept bubbling up seemed to haunt her.

"What are you doing here at this time?"

Getting shocked out of her reverie by the words, Asuna focused on the house she was assigned. The speaker was the NPC responsible for giving a lucrative hunting quest in the forest around the dungeon. Tagged by Argo as the most likely, it seemed like her intuition was spot on.

"I'm here to help," a man answered. He didn't appear to be wearing a poncho but was still hard to see in the low torchlight. Due to the reflective property of most metal, this meant that either he had a cloak on, or perhaps leather armour. Sending Argo and Sachi a quick message, Asuna continued to observe him as he went through the dialogue to accept the quest.

An unfamiliar shape was slung on his hip. Was that a weapon? Going through the ones she knew; the vague outline didn't fit any of the weapons that she knew. Was there actually an entire category of weapon she was unfamiliar with? It tugged at her memory though. Vague memories of a happier time. Not from SAO, but not from her house either though. A fireplace? What does that have to…

Like a bolt of lightning, the answer hit her. A hatchet. Or most probably a hand axe. When she was younger, Asuna used to watch her grandfather cut wood with one at their house. A log cabin in the middle of the forest.

Nostalgia rising, Asuna almost missed their departure. Stepping lightly, she followed them away from the house.

Stalking someone is much harder than it seems. Holding her breath, Asuna tiptoed a good twenty metres back of the figure. When they turned the nearby corner, Asuna hesitated. Should she try and close the distance? Deciding to risk it, Asuna sped up to close the distance. Turning the corner, she was met with nothing. Where the figure was supposed to be maybe 10 metres away was nothing.

"What?" the word slipping out unconsciously, Asuna clapped a hand over her mouth. Even if it was a whisper it seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet of the dead of night. Eyes darting back and forth, Asuna's eyes rested on what seemed the only possibility, an alley 5 metres away. Creeping over there, Asuna poked her head around the corner.

For a second time, confusion struck. The blind alley was empty. With nowhere for someone to hide, Asuna turned around and continued looking for the strange man.

"It seems like Naruto sent his dogs for us." The words seemed to materialize from thin air, in the same alleyway Asuna had just left.

"Thanks for the save boss." Morte whispered. Crawling out from underneath PoH's cloak, the pair wavered into existence from the wall. While Morte had Hiding, it certainly wouldn't have been good enough to avoid Asuna's acute gaze in such a small space without aid. The fact that it was only the second floor and PoH had this ability was terrifying.

"Let's go." Whispering one final communication, PoH led him to the center of town. Near where Sachi was keeping watch was a device Argo hadn't considered in her planning, a teleporter.

"What happened?" Argo's hissed words reverberated through the empty streets.

"I don't know," Asuna admitted. "I started to follow him and then he turned a corner and disappeared!"

"I didn't see anyone like that enter town in the first place… Ugh, I'm such an idiot. Let's go!" Dashing off, Argo led them to her mistake. Dashing into the square, they were just in time to see the final lights dissipate.

"Did they know we were hunting them?" Sachi asked, her hollow voice rife with fear.

Nodding mutely, Argo swallowed before speaking. "My guess is that he used hiding to evade Aa-chan."

"What?" Asuna protested. "It was small and totally empty. Their skill level would have to be off the charts!"

"Let's try it," Argo suggested. "Lead me there."

Waiting to give Argo a chance, Asuna and Sachi walked into the entranceway. Giving the alley a once over, Asuna's mouth dropped. She actually was invisible. No. That shimmer there. Staring at it quickly brought Argo into focus.

"I suppose it really is possible." Asuna admitted.

"Yeah, it needed to be a little higher." Argo agreed. "But training Hiding is hard. This guy really has such a high stat?"

With no answer's forthcoming, the girls went to bed to await Naruto and the morning.

* * *

Laying on her bed, Suguha stared at her empty ceiling. Tracing its endless white surface, Suguha felt herself drawn into its infinite emptiness. Despite having no detail, every inch was slightly different. A chip of paint missing there, an indent there. Focusing on these imperfections, Suguha distracted herself from her thoughts. The truth was that Suguha felt listless. Ever since Kazuto had been sucked into that death game, Suguha had no motivation for anything. School seemed like a waste of time, and even kendo just brought images of her cousin to mind.

She hadn't been to the hospital since Sunday. It was simply too far to reach on a weekday. Regardless, she was planning on going tomorrow. Even if she was kicked out after only an hour or so, at least she'd see him again.

Her cousin, her idol, her crush. Suguha still didn't know when she'd realized. Probably after hearing her friend Mina talk. She'd gone on and on about how hot Ryuji was last year. About how his very presence lit up the room. That evening, Kazuto had come over as a surprise, when he walked into the room… it lit up. Just as Mina said it would.

Contemplating this, Suguha finally smiled. That's right, her feelings weren't wrong. They couldn't be. There was no way Kazuto would die in that game and leave her alone. In the meantime, she'd get strong enough so that when Kazuto finally returned to her, she'd be able to tell him how she felt. Maybe I'll even go in there and rescue him. Smiling at the silly idea, Suguha closed her eyes. Steeling her resolve, she finally fell asleep without nightmares.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

Hey all,

I has on holiday's last weekend which delayed chapter 3.

Hopefully, I get out a chapter every week until Part 2 is finished. I should warn you, Part 2 will be shorter than Part 1, however Part 3 will most likely be far longer than either. Nevertheless, as this story continues to drift further from initial outlines, I promise nothing.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3

_Friday Dec 16__th__, 2022 _

So, here we are," Naruto spoke idly, staring at the looming labyrinth. Having arrived himself in Taran that morning, the raid group was on the cusp of entering the labyrinth on the seventh day of being on the floor. As far as Naruto was aware, everyone had done the surrounding quests yesterday. While the pace was slower than Naruto would have liked, it was still much faster than the first floor.

"I'm going to go find quests," Argo whispered before dashing off.

Not even having time to give her a nod, Naruto smiled wryly. He knew the girls were hiding something from him, but their comradery and upbeat attitude was very refreshing.

It wasn't until he was alone that he really noticed how much he cared for the three of them. Sachi reminded him of home, Argo of the game, and Asuna… well she reminded him of himself. She possessed a drive that not even he could match. That fiery determination motivated Naruto to continue striving for more.

"Is something wrong?" Asuna asked from beside him.

Giving her a look out of the corner of his eye, Naruto, instead of answering, asked her a question. "When do you plan on getting rid of the cloak?"

Slightly flushing the girl bowed her head, further hiding it in the shadows. "I like it."

"What do you like about it?" Naruto asked, the question bugging him for awhile.

"The protection from men. With so few women in the game, most men will assume I'm a man until I speak."

Nodding, Naruto had guessed that was the reason. "So, when you're strong enough, you won't need the protection anymore?" Naruto teased.

"If I was strong… there are many things I'd do," Asuna answered sadly.

"Remember, you have friends now," Naruto told her with a comforting hand on her arm. "We will help you when you have troubles."

Nodding her thanks, Asuna excused herself quickly. "I should go help Sachi with potion production."

Smiling, Naruto watched the girl depart.

"I see you're working on expanding your harem," Arthur teased once Asuna was out of earshot.

"Who are you again?" Naruto asked feigning ignorance.

"Shut up," Arthur scowled. "Anyway, I got your message about PoH. Why do you want it a secret?"

Looking around for eavesdroppers, Naruto whispered his answer. "That man isn't normal. I think if people knew someone like him was running around, they would be irrationally afraid."

"I'm not sure being scared of him is irrational," Arthur countered.

"It's not," Naruto agreed. "But his cursor was green. That means as long as a party has enough of a safety margin, he can only annoy them."

Grunting, Arthur wasn't sold. "If he becomes a problem, we will have to deal with him."

"I know." Naruto sighed. "But I have so much else to do, I'm really hoping he doesn't."

"Amen to that," Arthur chuckled.

* * *

"I've found it," Argo declared happily at supper. "Just like the first floor. Endless fetch quests. I did two of them, also, it wasn't in the beta."

"Fantastic," Naruto agreed with a slight smile. "That is your only responsibility from now until the boss raid. I want that quest cleared. Do you need any resources?"

"Actually, I'd like Sachi and Asuna."

Frowning, Naruto was slow to respond. "Both? All the time? That's quite a bit of power you're taking with you."

"You said whatever I want," Argo taunted.

"I said what you need," Naruto countered testily. "Sachi is important to maintaining the dynamic of Keita's group, and Asuna brings a lot of damage and reliability. I'll need a better reason than you want them."

This time it was Argo's turn to carefully evaluate her words. Pondering, Argo slowly probed Naruto. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course, I trust you, Argo." Naruto answered clearly.

Blushing slightly, Argo met his resolute eyes. "Then I need them."

"As you wish." Naruto conceded with a sigh. "When you've finished whatever side mission your on, will you tell me what it is?"

Having been seen through, Argo had the grace to at least look embarrassed.

"You're the best boyfriend," Argo whispered in his ear. Giving him a light kiss on the cheek, Argo dashed off to wrap up some unfinished business before bed.

"Please, just stay safe," Naruto silently plead to where to girl had disappeared.

* * *

_Sunday Dec 18__th__, 2022_

"Ranged enemies?" Naruto spoke, surprised. Parrying the attack from the Taurus Ringhurler, Naruto was more curious about the presence of a ranged weapon than its threat.

"Yeah that's new," Klein agreed with a laugh. "Maybe they'll get introduced on higher floors!"

"Well, anything's possible," Naruto replied, humouring the older man.

"Most enemies have the possibility to drop a weapon if they wield one," Arthur interjected. "What do you think this one would drop?"

Slaying the Ringhurler with a blinding 'Vertical Arc', a new addition to his repertoire, Naruto shrugged. "Could ask Argo I suppose."

"Nah," Tetsuo denied. "It's not worth her time."

"True," Klein nodded. "Those quests must be really hard if she needed both Sachi and Asuna to help."

"Yeah, they must be," Naruto answered with a chuckle.

"I bet you could do them solo, right Naruto?" Ducker asked with wide eyes.

"Eh, well probably," Naruto reluctantly told him. "I'm sure Argo could too, but it's safer and quicker with backup."

"Ah, of course." Ducker apologized. "I should have known you'd already thought of everything."

"Right…" Naruto hesitantly replied.

"Enough ass-kissing Ducker," Keita told him off. "You aren't pretty enough for special attention."

"Aww, you jealous Keita," Sasamaru teased.

"Shut up," Keita growled irritably, face red.

"Another Ringhurler incoming," Coper informed them, still unused to the group dynamics.

"You want point on it?" Naruto asked him.

"Sure," Coper replied with an easy smile.

While he hadn't had much time to interact with him, Naruto was impressed by Coper's attitude. The way he acted possessed a sense of… realism. Like he had embraced Aincrad as his home. It was both comforting and off-putting at the same time.

Blocking the Ringhurler's skill with his shield, Coper fired off a vertical before switching with Dynamm.

Smiling faintly, Naruto observed Coper's polished moves. While he wasn't the fastest fighter, every move from him was precise. His blows landed where he wanted them too even if it took him longer than it could have.

"So, onto the tenth floor?" Arthur asked casually once the new Ringhurler was polygons.

"Of course," Naruto asserted. "I want to get to the thirteenth today and the top tomorrow."

"What about the miniboss," Klein asked concerned, "Kroil was straight forward, but he packed a punch."

"There is none," Naruto told him with a shake of his head. "In exchange, there's an elite monster that roams the halls of the tenth floor."

"That's potentially worse," Kunimittz complained.

"According to Argo it's pretty easy to avoid, but it can make farming that floor challenging." Naruto told them lightly, guiding the group up the staircase to the tenth floor. "Which is apparently unfortunate because some valuable critters spawn there."

"Critters in a labyrinth?" Dale asked curiously.

"It isn't the only time…" Coper murmured with a faint smile, as if he was remembering fond times.

"So, how was the beta test, Coper?" Naruto teased.

"What? Ah, you figured it out, huh?" Coper admitted embarrassed.

"You don't have to worry about any judgement from us," Klein assured him.

"I wouldn't have joined if I thought you guys would," Coper laughed. "I just didn't know how to mention it."

"Don't worry about it," Arthur told him with a slap on the back. "It's not like you'd try to kill someone."

Coper could only laugh nervously as the group resounded with laughter.

"Quiet," Naruto scolded, "it's coming."

Silence descended over the party immediately. Nervous shuffling and heavy breathing permeating the stale air as Naruto continued to peer down one of the passages.

"Follow me," Naruto whispered. "We won't fight it unless we have to."

"Usually the strategy would be to retreat," Coper countered. "Wait for the enemy to pass by and then come back up."

"No point," Naruto denied. "Even if it corners us while we fight, it's easy to enough to deal with."

Grumbling, the party placed their trust in Naruto's decision and entered the corridors of the tenth floor. Five minutes of travelling through the twisted passages, left the party with what appeared to be only a small fraction of the floor mapped and a lot of confusion over where they should be going.

"Where's Argo when you need her," Harry One groaned pitifully. Panting somewhat heavily, nerves of the unknown were slowly starting to overcome the party's composure.

"Calm down," Naruto wearily sighed. "The whole point of the floor is to scare you."

"Well it's working," Ducker admitted, throat bobbing from the effort of keeping his nerves under control.

"I gotta admit," Klein interrupted, "getting stalked through a labyrinth isn't a lot of fun."

"Yes," Naruto agreed, "but that's all it does. It wears down your nerves so that you make mistakes in the fight. The battles themselves aren't going to be hard. I assure you, just follow me and we'll be fine."

One by one the boys nodded and got ready to move again. Giving them a resolute nod, Naruto led them down an unexplored passageway, further through the labyrinth. Cursing his luck internally, Naruto silently raged through these halls. Any one of them, all Naruto wanted was one of the girls. If even one of them was in the party the tension would die away. Argo could tell them where they are and laugh at the one's who were scared. Her easygoing nature would straighten them up right away. Asuna would induce a similar effect, wondering why anyone would fear such silly looking enemies. Sachi, meanwhile, would make the boys feel like they must protect her. Shaking his head at what would require all three of them, Naruto led his party through the damp hallways.

Even Naruto had to admit that the floor was eerie. The darker stone of the walls gave the impression that they were closing in around you. Coupled with the unnerving sound of dripping water, it was easy to see why the floor would terrify the average player. Doing this solo would actually be scary.

Encountering a Taurus Butcher, Naruto swiftly closed the distance on the unfortunate enemy. Dodging the poor swing from an even worse looking weapon, Naruto used Vertical Arc to carve away a large portion of the foe's health.

"Switch!" dodging back, Arthur filled the hole with 'Triple Impaler', a new two-handed spear skill that did exactly as the name suggested.

Blocking the follow-up, Arthur took mild damage before Ducker finished off the enemy with a clean backstab.

Group smiling at the dismantling of the poor cow, tension eased a bit.

"Easy as cake," Ducker told them with a smile. "And check out this weapon it dropped!"

Pulling the weapon out of his inventory, the group admired it. The cleaver was reminiscent of the one the Taurus had used, only better.

"Is that a rare weapon?" Klein asked excited.

Nodding, Ducker was almost overcome with excitement. "It's a 'Deadly Cleaver of Minos'! It falls in the one-handed axe category!"

"Hate to burst a bubble here," Arthur sadly broke in, "but does anyone actually use one-handed axes?"

Mood dying slightly, the group pondered Arthur's words. Weapons had a very low drop rate from monsters as it was. Of these, over 80% were common. A rare weapon was around 15% drop rate in the beta. The last 5% of weapons composed the super rare and legendary tiers. When you take in the chance of getting a weapon drop, it fell well below 1% for even a rare weapon on monster kill.

"According to Argo, using a one-handed axe has very few benefits," Naruto informed a now morose group. "There is no one in the frontlines that uses one currently."

"Ugh," grunting in what seemed like physical pain, Ducker's face bore a complex expression. On one hand, he now had a rare weapon that he could sell to an NPC for a large chunk of money, on the other, no one wanted to sell such a rare piece of equipment, even if it was essentially useless to him. "Why aren't cleavers in the dagger category," Ducker whined bitterly.

"Maybe because you can't stab with one," Tetsuo interjected logically.

"Also, that one's a little large," Naruto informed him sadly. "I'm sure it's possible to get a dagger that looks like a cleaver though."

Pouting silently, Ducker returned the weapon to his inventory. "Oh, well, let's continue."

Nodding, Naruto resumed his place at head of the party. "Think of it as a portent of good things to come," Naruto told the boy happily, "I'm sure you'll get more rare daggers than you know what to do with."

"That's the Naruto I remember," Arthur snickered as the rest of the party rolled their eyes at their leader's groundless optimism.

* * *

"Well?"

"Nothing," Asuna confirmed sadly. "We staked out the site for the quest they accepted and nothing."

"Damn it!" Argo cursed. It should have been so easy. Just watch the enemies that one is required to kill to complete the quest they accepted. Unfortunately, they didn't have the manpower to watch it at all times. Argo had the feeling they were already finished it.

"What now?" Asuna asked curiously. Both her and Sachi deferred to the mossy-haired Argo when it came to matters of SAO. There was no one more knowledgeable. Even if Naruto was the leader of the group, Argo certainly knew more about the workings of the game.

"I don't know," Argo snapped. "Why don't you come up with something?"

Sniffing, Asuna didn't reply. Instead she put her brain to the task. While she wasn't versed in games, she knew people. She'd been raised to analyze people and how to work them to her advantage. Surely, she could solve the tactics of some role-playing gamer. She'd navigated the horrors of a girl's prep school after all.

Sitting down, Asuna watched Sachi work for awhile, hoping it would help. Unfortunately, the process of potion production was insanely boring. She took out the appropriate ratio of each herb and put them in a mortar. Then she'd grind with a pestle for about thirty seconds. It would then become surrounded with light and a potion would appear beside the empty mortar. Rinse and repeat. Currently Sachi was making the only useful find of the quest, paralysis cures.

"Are we not starting on the next step?" Sachi asked without looking up from her work.

"Can't," Argo sighed. "After delivering the steaks, the dude needs to salt them. He won't need us again until he runs out."

"Which will be?"

"Probably in a couple hours." Argo replied with an obviously upset sigh.

Walking behind her, Asuna rubbed the girl's shoulders. "Hey, you'll be alright. We'll solve this before you know it."

"Thanks, Aa-chan." Murmuring Argo's eyes started to close. "That hits the spot…" Trailing off, Argo passed into the land of dreams.

Taking a quick look at the scene, Sachi smiled. "Poor girl. She can't relax with this guy out there."

"I know," Asuna agreed. "She snuck out last night."

"Eh? Why didn't you stop her?"

"She wouldn't have listened," Asuna disagreed. "Besides, she won't die. She's Argo."

"Hehe," giggling Sachi nodded her head in agreement. "I get the feeling she'll outlast us all."

Smiling, Asuna silently agreed. "Now I just need to find a way to help." Putting her back against the wall, Asuna slid down it.

"Well, if you need someone to listen, I'm all ears." Continuing to grind away, Sachi gave Asuna a quick smile.

"Thanks." Smiling back, Asuna thought about what she knew. This character, PoH, had an accomplice. The man she'd seen last night wasn't him from all reports she'd heard. Since it was a party quest though, it didn't matter if someone else accepted it, he'd still get the rewards. Not helpful. All they really know is that he has a couple of acquaintances. If he viewed the front liners as his enemies then the first thing he'd need is information. To that length…

"Do you think its possible there's a spy in the raid group?"

Freezing, Sachi's potion-making stopped for the first time. Looking at Asuna, pure fear was reflected in her eyes. "That's… I mean… Who?"

"I don't know," Asuna admitted. "But it would help him to evade us. It makes sense."

Nodding reluctantly Sachi went back to her mashing. "It does make sense. Without a suspect though, we have nothing."

"It means that all information needs to tightly contained. Us and Naruto only."

"Arthur and Keita can be trusted," Sachi corrected. "Same with Klein and them."

"I don't know," Asuna disagreed. "I think their tongues are too loose. Its not like I suspect them."

"Maybe your right," Sachi agreed, voice thick with fear. Her hands were shaking trying to finish the potion. "I'd just be more comfortable if the people around me knew."

Moving forward, Asuna cupped Sachi's hands. "It's alright. Argo and I will protect you. More than that, there is no way Naruto will let something happen to you."

"Thanks, Asuna." Taking a break with the completed potion, Sachi drew her into a hug. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," Asuna answered honestly.

"Eh? Did I miss some touching moment?" Argo yawned, waking up from her nap.

"Kind of," Asuna informed her with a smile. "I have an idea on how to proceed."

Tilting her head, Argo stared hard at the beautiful girl. "I'm listening."

"So, you want to track the raid members?" Argo asked disbelievingly. "I understand the logic that he would plant someone in it, but still. That's a lot of parties. Plus, we have no real way of observing them while they go questing without being obvious about it."

"Not quite," Asuna corrected with a smile. "We aren't looking for those going questing, we look for those who don't. If we can get party composition and start doing background checks on when people joined and how they know each other, then…"

"Then we figure out who it is," Argo finished. "That's actually brilliant!"

"Won't they figure it out?" Sachi asked worried. "If we start interacting with people we don't usually, they're bound to get suspicious."

"What are they going to do?" Argo laughed, "Pull them out of the raid group? If they do that, they lose their spy."

"Plus," Asuna added, "Anyone else trying to join the frontlines is easier to check out."

"Well, it may be a wild goose chase," Argo laughed, "but it's better than nothing!"

* * *

Relaxing in a booth, Naruto closed his weary eyes. In an attempt to not waste an extra day, Naruto had pushed his party through to the fourteenth floor. This left only the fifteenth to the twentieth to clear tomorrow. Additionally, Naruto had to meet with the other party leaders, solve any issues they have, and hand out the collected map data.

As a principal, Naruto only explored approximately 60% of the labyrinth floors. Usually it was possible in that time to find the way to the next floor and some of the treasure. By giving this 60% to the other parties, they could then split up the remaining exploration and treasure chests between them.

Giving them a final warning about not panicking on the tenth floor, Naruto had finally gotten a moment of peace. Even the hard corner of wood digging into his head couldn't disrupt his rest.

"Here is your meal sir," the NPC waitress announced with a slight curtsy. Placing the tray with expert skill, Naruto watched her curiously. It was easy to forget that they weren't human when they did something so naturally. There were no jerky motions, or really anything that would distinguish them from a human. The only aid one had was their cursor and speech.

Shaking his head, Naruto thanked the waitress.

"It was my pleasure, just signal if you need something else." Giving Naruto a dimpled smile, he was unsure what ethnicity the girl was. Slightly tanned skin, the girl could be described as a stereotypical farmer's daughter.

Nodding distractedly, Naruto watched her disappear into the kitchens to serve someone else.

"Gone for a couple days and you're hitting on the NPCs?"

"Argo!" Naruto yelped, sitting up straight.

Sniffing, Argo conveyed all her disappoint in the one gesture.

"I wasn't doing anything," Naruto defended himself quickly. "Just contemplating on how lifelike they are."

Rolling her eyes at the excuse, Argo didn't press him. "Yeah, you got that right. In the beta there are some elf ladies on the higher floors. The number of greasy neckbeards panting after them was disgusting."

Smiling faintly, Naruto was pretty sure Argo didn't put him in that category. "So, how goes the questline?"

"The questline is good," Argo replied with a smile. "Should be finished tomorrow, if it's similar to the first floor's in length."

Ignoring the hint, Naruto pressed on. "That will line up well, we will finish the labyrinth tomorrow. One day for boss planning and to give people time to upgrade any gear or grind out a level and then onto the third floor."

"Feels like we just got to the second floor," Argo chuckled.

"Compared to the first floor, we did," Naruto agreed.

"Oh right, these are for you." Opening her menu, Argo traded Naruto a large number of healing potions and…

"Are these paralysis cures!?" Almost shouting with excitement, Naruto's eyes sparkled with glee. One of the worries he had left was the paralysis effect the boss had had in the beta. Curing paralysis could be done instantly if one jammed a paralysis cure of the correct level down their throat. The price to buy them however… was not an amount easily coughed up.

"Sachi made them from the ingredients found at our destination today. I'm guessing it was another hidden benefit of doing them."

"For sure… the amount of cor you just gave me is astronomical for this point in the game."

Smiling bitterly, Argo laughed awkwardly. "Actually, we were going to sell it as useless. Asuna saved the day by asking what it was used for."

"Then I guess it really did take all three of you," Naruto chuckled. "Anyway, I'm worried about the three of you falling behind in levels. To be fully prepared I'd like everyone to be level 13 for the fight."

"Ah, we should be alright there. Sachi and Asuna have both hit level 12. They should easily hit level 13 during the one-day break."

"Good, good… Wait a second, are you not planning on coming to the boss fight?" Naruto asked surprised.

"No, I'll be there," Argo replied curiously, "what prompted that?"

"You told me about Sachi and Asuna but left yourself out."

"Well, you shouldn't pry into a girl's personal matters," Argo lightly teased.

"But you revealed theirs," Naruto fired back incredulously.

Walking around the booth, Argo slid in and aligned her body against his. Bringing her mouth to his ear, Naruto fought to stay calm as Argo's hot breath tickled his ear.

"You'll need to pay up to learn my info Nar-boi."

Swallowing to maintain composure, Naruto looked over in time to see Argo's form disappear through the inn door.

"There's no way she'll die," Naruto murmured astounded. Heart pounding, Naruto dove into his cooling food as a way of distracting himself.

* * *

_Monday Dec 19__th__, 2022_

_ "_Thank you all for coming here today," Naruto declared, standing on the edge of a fountain in one of Taran's four parks. "I know it is late and you are all eager to get to bed, but I wish to go over the next few days in a bit more detail. I've met with your party leaders over the days and confirmed this."

Coughing quietly, Naruto waved Kibaou over to join him.

"Today, my party finished securing the route to the boss room. The map data of which will be distributed shortly. Tomorrow, you will have the day to prepare, be that leveling, upgrading equipment, or something else. Therefore, on the twenty-first we will fight the second-floor boss. Instead on printing a boss pamphlet, Argo herself will speak to you shortly."

Surprise drifted through the crowd at the announcement. Even if she had come to the last boss raid, she was still an enigma. Stepping off the fountain, Naruto stood beside Kibaou who took a respectful half-step back to show Naruto was clearly the primary leader.

Seeming to appear there, Argo sat on the edge, a picture of nonchalant. Smiling slightly at her, Naruto gave her a nod. Her acting was good, but Naruto knew better, Argo's nerves were fried.

Acknowledging him with a hooded wink, Argo began speaking. "I'll keep things brief. Similar to the first floor, there was a quest chain with a reward about the boss changes, and boy was it big."

"Hey Kib-boi, make yourself useful." Opening her menu, Argo materialized a thick stack of parchment. Taking one, Naruto scanned the title while Kibaou obediently started handing them out.

"Argo's second-floor boss guide. Asterios the Taurus King." Naruto mouthed to himself. The pamphlet was strange for a couple of reasons. One, the boss name was entirely different from what he had heard it was in the beta. Second, and maybe more important, is that it was titled Argo's guide, not the Rat's guide. Looking curiously over at her, Argo mouthed later. Turning back to the assembled raid, Naruto buried his curiosity.

"Alright, now that you've all got one, open it to the first page," Argo disrespectfully told the assembled players, treating them like a teacher does a grade one class. "The second floor has a new floor boss, Asterios the Taurus King."

Raising her hand for silence, Argo quickly summarized the information she had found on the quest. Explaining that Asterios would appear only when Baran the Taurus General entered its last health bar, tension left Naruto's body. Finishing, Argo mentioned that Asterios' eyes glow when its about to use it greatest attack and the possibility of it being stopped by hitting its crown.

"Thank you for that Argo," Naruto nodded politely. Quickly clambering up onto the fountain as Argo dashed away, Naruto banged his sword against the edge to refocus attention. "This information has saved us from potential disaster at the next raid. Going forward, the plan remains the same. I will look into throwing weapons and someone willing to interrupt Asterios."

Raising his hand to silence the murmurs, Naruto plowed on. "For the fight, Klein's party and mine will deal with Baran. Kibaou will lead the other four parties to kill Nato. Once Nato is gone, we will reposition Baran and spawn Asterios. Kibaou's four parties will draw initial aggro. Once Baran is done I will meet up with the rest of the raid and assume final control. Any questions?"

"Yes," stepping forward, Orlando wore a face of discontent. "why not split the parties 3 and 3? Nato should still die first and it provides more security for the Baran fight."

Chuckling to himself, Naruto silently applauded the audacity of Orlando. He wanted to fight Baran and Asterios rather than Nato and Asterios. "Three and three is a possibility. But we don't know the power of Asterios. Illfang's katana may have caught us off guard, but I won't let that happen again."

"Yeah, I have a question too," stepping forward, Agil's head was almost level with Naruto's despite the fountain advantage. "Is the raid still a go even without finding someone to throw something at Asterios?"

"Yes," Naruto answered swiftly, to mild discontent from the crowd. "Even if we find a thrown weapon, the information received from the quest is no more than a hint. Putting our hope in a thrown weapon cancelling a boss's ultimate attack is foolish."

"On that note, what is the ultimate attack?" Hafner asked with a frown.

"Unknown. Whatever it is, if you remain calm, it can be dealt with." Clearing his throat Naruto spread his hands. "That goes for everything in this game so far. If you don't panic and maintain your composure, you will be fine. Any more questions?"

Seeing no pressing matters, Naruto concluded the meeting. "I'll meet you here at noon on the twenty-first. Have a good night."

Jumping down, Naruto hid his yawn as he approached the rest of his party. "Celebratory dinner tomorrow night?"

Seeing the relieved nods, Naruto internally smiled. It had been a long day finishing the labyrinth mapping.

Splitting up to go to their various inn rooms, Naruto was followed by only Klein, Arthur, and the three girls.

"So, Asuna," Arthur started awkwardly. "You don't have a lot of experience fighting Taurus's yet since you were busy with the quests. Do you want to accompany me to the labyrinth tomorrow to fight some?"

Face tightening, Naruto made no comment. Realistically, he had no right to feel the wave of jealously that he did. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Naruto retained his stoic demeanor.

Giggling, Asuna crushed Arthur's dreams. "Sorry, we're having a girls' day out in the labyrinth tomorrow. No boys allowed."

"Wait, so Naruto isn't going?"

Shaking his head, Naruto took the question himself. "I have some things to do with the party leaders, final details to go over, an idea to run by them. After that, I'm meeting some of Sachi's friends. If there is time before supper, then I'll do some solo training. Martial Arts is harder than it looks."

"Oh," Arthur grumbled, "guess I'll hang out with Klein."

"Why do you sound like that's a bad thing?" Klein whined.

Laughing at the interaction, the group continued to their destination. Feeling uneasy, Naruto turned and found Joe following them on the outskirts of hearing range. Well beyond the distance the sound of footsteps would transmit. Wiping the frown off his face, Naruto waved him over.

"Oh, hey there." Joe greeted them, melancholy as always.

"Hey!" Klein greeted him enthusiastically, bright as always. "Why didn't you just join us if you were going the same direction?"

"W-well, it's kinda scary to walk with the best players in the game, ya know?"

Frown returning slightly, Naruto waved the rest of the group on, so he could talk to Joe on his own. Standing with his back to the light, Naruto didn't realize the effect he was having on the poor man. Coat of midnight surrounding his torso, Naruto looked like the shadows themselves were alive.

Trembling, Joe tried to speak, "I-I wasn't following you! I swear!"

"What?" Naruto asked stunned. "I just wanted to ask you some questions without the others hearing."

"Oh… uh, go ahead." Joe awkwardly replied, still unnerved by being isolating by Naruto.

Trying to keep the frown off his face, Naruto took a second to look at the man. A loose black cloak hung down his shoulders. A frock of black hair prevented Naruto from seeing his downcast eyes. Wearing light metal armor, Joe was decked out in standard dagger gear. Naruto was a minority for not wearing any real piece of metal, only a chest protector.

"How are you feeling about the next boss fight? You had a pretty rough time against Illfang."

Gaping, Joe only stared at him.

Shifting uncomfortably, Naruto scratched his head. "What I mean to say is, are you comfortable fighting this boss?"

Chuckling quietly, Joe bowed deeply to him. "Thank you for concern, but as long as you're there, I'm not worried about the fight. It's him I'm worried about." Whispering the last sentence under his breath, Joe raised his head.

"Alright, then I'll see you later." Clapping Joe on the shoulder, Naruto headed to where his companions had gone.

"Don't die tomorrow," Joe whispered, looking past Naruto to where his party went. "He'll need you to win." Tears threatening to well over, Joe sent a message that he knew would damn him.

* * *

Siting at in a booth, Naruto and Argo faced each other. With the time ticking closer to midnight, they were the only two occupants in the empty tavern. The only people who were in Taran were frontliners. By this point most of them had synced up their schedule to work during the day. This helped in synchronizing their activities. However, even now, some oddballs preferred to keep a nocturnal schedule. Naruto didn't care as long as they were ready for the boss fight.

"So, what's up?" Naruto's probing question wasn't subtle.

Meeting the piercing black gaze, Argo merely giggled. "I guess, I don't want to be a rat anymore."

"It reminds you of your uncle, doesn't it?"

At Naruto's soft voice, Argo lowered her head. Staying silent, Naruto gave her a moment to compose herself.

"Yeah. It was a constant reminder for me. That I wasn't worthy of anything more."

Reaching across the table, Naruto softly caressed her hand. "I hope you know; I've never thought of you that way. In fact, I probably would have died a long time ago without your knowledge."

"Just figuring that out now?" Argo teased, but her usual bite wasn't there.

Continuing to rub her hand, Naruto didn't know what else to say. All he could do was be there for her when she needed him.

"Do you…" Trailing off uneasily, Argo was unable to finish her sentence.

Smiling encouragingly, Naruto waved her on, "do you?"

"Do you want to see me without makeup?"

Freezing, Naruto hesitated briefly. The whiskers were such a defining part of Argo it was hard to imagine her without them. Smiling ironically, Naruto realized he'd get to see just that. "I would be honored."

"Hehe, smooth as always Nar-boi."

Makeup acted as an accessory in SAO. Therefore, it was possible to turn it off and on with one push of the button. One could then save multiple preferences and select them at will. However, one had to first manually apply and save it as a pre-set using expensive and rare cosmetic items.

Opening her menu, Argo didn't break eye contact as she turned it off. Shaking slightly, Argo faced Naruto with her bare face.

Taking his hand away from hers, Naruto moved it to Argo's face. Thumbing her cheek lightly, Naruto smiled. "Your still beautiful. If this is the new Argo, I'll gladly accept it."

Looking away, Argo flushed bright red. "Oh Nar-boi. What's a girl supposed to do when you say stuff like that?"

"Well, I suppose you could promise not to run off with someone much more dashing," Naruto teased.

"Hehe, I don't know if I can promise that," Argo laughed back. "Maybe I'll start my own harem!"

"As long as I'm still number one, I have no room to complain." Smiling broadly at her, Naruto's mind was a mess. What started as playful banter had dissolved into potentially broad reaching applications. How serious was Argo being? Did she have other people in mind? And did he have any right to complain if she did?

Standing up from her side, Argo slid in beside him. "Oh, don't worry Nar-boi. Your enough work as it is. I'm not going anywhere."

"Well that's good to hear." Reaching his arm around her shoulders, Naruto leaned his head against hers. "Fighting off a line of suitors sounds like a lot of work."

"Oh, so your willing to though?"

"Of course," Naruto assured her, a yawn permeating his voice.

"Why don't we go to bed?"

"That's sounds great."

Re-equipping her make-up, Argo walked up the stairs hand in hand with Naruto. She wasn't ready to go without it in front of the others just yet. Naruto was special. A thorn of guilt bit into her as she remembered the secret, she was keeping from him, that they all were. After tomorrow, Argo decided. That's when she'll inform Naruto that they were hunting PoH. It wouldn't be until after the second floor was cleared that they could enact their next plan for finding him anyway.

"Night Argo." Splitting up from her, Naruto entered the room he was sleeping by himself in.

Biting her lip, Argo watched him leave. Argo was sleeping with Sachi and Asuna to make it easier to coordinate and track PoH's movements. However, Argo wanted nothing more than to follow Naruto now and enjoy sleeping beside him. To wake up with his arms around her. But she couldn't. Not yet, at least. She had to prove herself worthy by finding this nuisance. More importantly, she couldn't betray Sachi like that.

"Night, Nar-boi." Whispering the quiet words at the vanished figure, Argo went back to her room for a short sleep. A long day of grinding tomorrow.

* * *

_Tuesday Dec 20__th__, 2022_

"So, this is the tenth floor…" trailing off, Sachi found it difficult to talk in the eerie place.

"It's amazing isn't it!?" Asuna chirped happily. "It's just how I always imagined the labyrinth must have been. The prisoners of Crete sacrificed to the minotaur as it slowly stalked them…" Trailing off Asuna blushed.

"Your nerdiness is showing," Argo teased.

The laughter between the girls helped drive away some of the approaching gloom. Tearing through the floor, they headed for enemies on higher floors to maximize the experience received.

"Onto eleven?" Argo asked.

The sound of footsteps stopped them. Flipping around, the three girls stared at the elusive man they had looked for this past week. The corners of the hood crept up, indicating he was smiling at them.

"It's showtime," the figure taunted, dashing down one of the passages.

Looking at each other, the girls nodded resolutely. Following him, the girls raced down the passageway after him. Turning corner after corner, Argo and Asuna started to pull away from the lower agility Sachi. Slowing slightly, they looked at her in concern.

"I'll be okay! Keep going!"

Nodding, they turned back to front and chased after the elusive black figure.

Panting at the mental exertion, Argo leapt precisely around the corners, closing slowly but surely on the slightly slower cloaked man. Two metres back, Argo was almost close enough to touch his coattails.

Pivoting on one foot, the man lashed out with a dagger.

Falling back, the tip barely missed her face. Using her broken form to his advantage, the man jumped back and ran to a T-intersection. Slamming the wall with a sword skill, noise seemed to infinitely echo down the damp passageways.

"Game over." The man chuckled darkly before dashing around the corner.

Getting up to follow him, Argo inhaled sharply. For at the far end of the passageway opposite her, stood the elite Taurus. It was possible she could make it down the connecting passageway before the elite monster got to her, but that would mean getting separated from the other two.

"Argo?" skidding around the corner, Asuna paused beside the frozen info broker. Asuna, much to her chagrin, had been left behind similar to Sachi when she was unable to keep up around the tight corners.

"We need to leave." Voice trembling slightly from fear, Argo pulled Asuna back to the last intersection. Looking to the left, Sachi screeched around the corner followed closely by two 'Lesser Taurus Strikers'. Desperately searching, the girls couldn't believe their eyes as they saw enemies appearing down every tunnel.

The trap had been well set. By drawing them through the floor, PoH had counted on drawing enemies to them and then cutting off the way forward with the elite unit. Simple yet effective. The hunters had become the hunted. No, they had never been the hunters to start with.

Resolutely drawing her rapier, Asuna spoke confidently, "I'll hold them here. You and Sachi force your way down one of the passages."

Growling, Argo shook her head. "No, we can all get out of this. There has to be a way."

"No, Argo," Asuna spoke normally. "I enjoyed having friends, but sooner or later, we're all going to die in here." Smiling softly, Asuna wiped one of Argo's tears.

Panting heavily, Sachi joined the two girls in the middle of the passage. "What's the plan?"

"Goodbye Sachi," Asuna smiled sadly.

"N-no, there has to be a way."

"There isn't time, now go!" Shouting quietly but forcefully, Asuna shoved them to one of the tunnels.

"No," Argo growled. "Either we die together or not at all."

"Stop being stubborn," Asuna frowned, "Naruto needs you two."

"If you think he doesn't rely on you as well, you're kidding yourself." Argo fired right back.

"There…" the whispered breath of Sachi stopped the fight in its tracks. Pointing down the far passage, two Ringhurlers approached.

"If we slide under their skills…"

"We can run past them for free." Asuna finished.

Agreeing with a look, the girls ran as one for the imposing Tauruses. Charging up identical skills, the Ringhurlers seemed to smile at the girls. If they screwed up the timing, the skill would hit them directly and have a high chance of causing a tumble or stun debuff. If this happened there would be no chance of survival.

"Three, two, one… Now!" Yelling commands, Argo slid like a professional baseball player across the uneven ground just as the skill went off. Due to the system assist, Sword skills would correct their trajectory to hit the focused target. However, this trajectory was locked when the skill started. By waiting to slide until the skill started, it forced the rings along a horizontal path; it was therefore feasible that someone could slide in the gap between the trajectory locking, and the weapon reaching them.

"Eep!' Sachi screamed in terror as the one Taurus's blade scratched the ground inches behind her head, a product of sliding milliseconds too early.

"Go!" Argo commanded, rushing between the frozen enemies. Following her the girls were through before the rings returned to the hand of their masters. Turning the corner roughly, the girls escaped a couple of seconds before the rings crashed roughly into the wall behind them.

Panting for breath in a safe room on the eleventh floor, the cold hand of death slowly retracted its grasp.

"That was close." Sachi shivered.

"Yeah," Asuna agreed a complicated look on her face.

"Hey Asuna…"

"Argo?" Asuna asked confused.

The resounding slap shook the walls of the safe room. Falling on her butt, Asuna stared agape at the petite info broker. There was no holding back, the slap had removed a couple of health points. Argo would be orange if the party settings were different.

Standing back up, Asuna was furious, how dare Argo treat her this way, especially after what she'd been willing to do for her. Words on the tip of her tongue, Asuna stayed silent, as she quietly watched tears roll down Argo's whiskered cheeks.

"Stop it Asuna, just stop it…" the words were almost too quiet for her to hear, yet they still pierced like daggers.

"Argo, I…"

"You don't think you're worth it, do you? You fight with us, but you don't believe. Stop undermining yourself."

Biting her lip, Asuna couldn't hold Argo's gaze as her words bit into her. What were supposed to be Asuna's last words tasted sour in her mouth. She'd told her that everyone was going to die, because that's how she felt. Argo was right; it did undermine every interaction she had in this world. She went through the motions, but when it mattered, she stood there and felt sorry for herself.

Grunting, Asuna was surprised to find herself encased in a hug from Argo. The warmth emanating from the girl both helped and worsened the guilty thorn in her heart. While it eased the loneliness of the world, the generic sensation only served to remind her that this world wasn't real.

"Talk to us, Asuna, we're your friends." Sachi softly commanded.

Nodding, Asuna stroked Argo's head to distract herself from her words. "This world isn't real. I left the safety of the Town of Beginnings to stay myself. I wanted to die staying who I was until the end. Not morphed into a shadow of myself, defeated by this strange creation. When Naruto changed my path so abruptly, I didn't know what to think. I still don't. I guess I'm still trying to stay myself, but I can't get over the fakeness of the world. Even our friendship, I can't help but wonder if that's only a product of this world, if it will go away if we were to return to ours…"

Sachi and Argo, quite to Asuna's dismay, literally laughed in her face. "You're worried your feelings aren't real because the world isn't real?" tears of laughter formed in Sachi's eyes as the gales of laughter refused to fade.

"Oh Asuna," Argo sighed, "I wish you'd said something sooner. It happens all the time. You'll find friends on an online game. There are stories in the news of people meeting up in the real world with people they've only known online after years of only online contact. Just because it's not their real body, doesn't mean it's not their real emotions."

"It's true," Sachi confirmed. "I mean, Argo and Naruto have never met in real in life. I dare you to look at Argo and tell her that they're only dating in game."

Shuffling nervously, Asuna tried to sort out her feelings. "I think, in a way; I don't want my feelings to be true."

"Why?" Argo and Sachi echoed shocked.

"Because that would mean…" Swallowing Asuna looked at the girls one last time. Steeling her resolve, Asuna bared her heart to them. "It would mean that getting trapped in here was something worthwhile. It would mean I've made more friends here than I ever did in the real world. And finally, it would mean that I'm in love with your boyfriend." Unsure how they were going to react, Asuna continued to shuffle while staring at her feet.

As the silence stretched, Asuna was unable to bear it; looking up, Asuna needed to know how they felt about her revelation.

"Eh?" confused Asuna looked back and forth between the two contemplative girls. Each of them seeming to be pondering something.

"I guess… I really did get something out of being trapped in here," Sachi spoke with a smile.

"Is that what you were thinking about?" Argo asked in surprise. "I was trying to figure out a sleeping rotation between the four of us."

"What!?" Asuna shrieked, "how are you so calm about this? I betrayed your trust as a friend!"

Snorting Argo rolled her eyes. "Please, the sparks were flying when he first saw you in the dungeon. I'm sure he likes you too, he just won't ask you out due to his already complicated romantic circumstances."

"Honestly, sometimes I forget the two of you aren't dating," Sachi admitted.

"But-but…" Collapsing on the ground, Asuna held her head in her hands at the sheer irrationality of it. The worst part was, is that her heart was soaring. She wanted him to wrap her in his gentle darkness, to tell her it would be alright. Cradle her as she drifted into peaceful sleep.

"Anyway, should we leave? We need to tell Naruto about PoH."

"No!" Argo countered. "We go on and complete the quests as we planned originally. If we worry Naruto with this, who knows what he'll do. It's on us to defeat PoH."

"Do you think we can?" Sachi asked timidly. "I know both of you are really good at the game, but he had taken everything into account when setting that trap."

"He was trying to kill us." Asuna agreed. "He may be a bigger opponent than the actual bosses."

"It is worrying," Argo admitted. "But how can we leave this to Naruto?"

No immediate answer came to the girls. In the following silence, it was Asuna who eventually answered.

"We don't have to leave it to him, but we do have a duty to tell him. I think we should finish leveling up as Argo suggested. If we don't hit level thirteen, we will start to fall behind."

"Fine," Argo conceded exasperatedly, "Though I still think the three of us should just catch him."

"Not to burst a bubble," Sachi broke in hesitantly, "But how do we catch him? Let's say today the three of us had cornered him, what do we do at that point?"

Silence overtook the room. Even Argo who usually had all the answers came up short. There was only one answer that ringed about in their minds, and no one dared to speak it.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Hey all,

Sorry this is so late, but the last few weeks have been busy. Hopefully the rest of the Part releases on time.

Enjoy.

* * *

Interlude

_Tuesday, Dec 20__th__, 2022_

"I have your new weapon for you."

"Thank you Grimlock, I'm sure it will serve me well." Smiling easily at her husband from the real world, Griselda pulled the sword from its sheath. Examining the blade, it was easy to tell that it was quite a bit weaker than the one she was using. Her Anneal Blade +4 served her well in the battles she fought. Unable to find a worthy companion yet, she worked solo to clear quests.

Grimlock no longer came into the field. Instead he was content to sit in the Town of Beginnings, hammering away at the ore she brought back. Hiding her sigh, Griselda bowed deeply to her husband and thanked him for his work. Although the blade was bad, Griselda would keep it on her. It gave her hope that maybe he wasn't so bad, that they could work things out.

Sheathing the blade and depositing it in her inventory, Griselda sketched a short bow to her husband. "I'm off to conquer the first floors of the labyrinth today! See you tonight!" Exiting with a skip in her step, Griselda paid no attention to her husband's face.

Watching the door slowly close behind her, Grimlock was unable to rescue his face from the near permanent scowl that was etched on it. Hands shaking from rage, Grimlock wondered if his wife thought he was an idiot. Throwing his sword in her inventory like a piece of garbage, the woman had stomped off to go kill monsters… with her old sword.

She didn't even ask permission before darting out the door. Her insubordination would be cause for a beating in the real world, but here… Not only would the act of hitting her be pointless, it was unlikely she would sit around and take it.

Growling angrily at the loss of his obedient wife, Grimlock threw a bronze ingot into the forge. Impatiently mashing his teeth as it heated up, he took the glowing ingot and swung his hammer as hard as he could. This was the real reason he took up blacksmithing. Not to provide his wife with good gear. He did it as an outlet. Something he could hit and get productive results.

Imagining this new Griselda as the ingot, Grimlock unleashed his rage into making the weapon. Helpless to stop the game from further corrupting his wife and leading her away from the perfection she once was.

* * *

Chapter 4

"One of my group didn't say anything because they had just sold it off, but after buying it back… well here you are."

Looking at Hafner curiously, who now led his own party, Naruto accepted the trade request. Materialising the item, murmuring came over the party leaders gathered. A Burnished Iron Chakram. The weapon glistened softly in the low illumination of the bar.

"A drop from the Ringhurlers…" Naruto muttered in surprise. "Argo told me it was possible, but I didn't want to count on it." Pulling up its info, Naruto grunted in surprise. There were two skills required to properly wield the weapon: Knife Throwing, and Martial Arts.

"Unfortunately, there aren't many people with Martial Arts," Naruto replied testily. "It will be hard to find someone willing to use it."

"Don't you have it?" Orlando asked.

Nodding sheepishly, Naruto explained his logic. "I do, but I don't want to spend the whole fight looking at Asterios' head waiting for its eyes to glow. We'd also have to change the strategies to make it work. Overall, it doesn't really feel worth it. Ideally we'd get someone who specialises in throwing weapons already to use it."

"Do you have anyone in mind?" Agil asked surprised.

"I do. But neither would be ready for this fight."

"Who?" Kibaou asked.

"Argo is one," Naruto admitted, "and the other is Nezha."

"But he can't fight," Orlando gasped. "His depth perception is out."

"Exactly." Naruto answered. "It's only his depth perception. He can see fine."

Gaping, Orlando leapt out of his chair. "Permission to go get Nezha and propose this?"

Naruto had barely nodded before Orlando was out the door. Smiling faintly, the group chuckled as they waited for him to return.

"As nice as this is…" Kibaou broke in. "Like Naruto mentioned, it doesn't help us until after this boss fight."

"We could delay the fight…" Agil spoke slowly. "I know that I for one want to return to my wife as soon as possible but delaying for two days to ensure an easier fight doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Chewing over his thoughts, Naruto listened as the others debated. Raising his hand, Naruto called for silence. "Asterios only spawns when Baran reaches its last health bar, correct? So, what if tomorrow we simply kill Nato and retreat. That would simplify the fight for when we have the chakram."

Silently turning it over in their heads, Naruto stared impassively at the three party leaders. With Orlando gone, and Klein refusing to come, saying his party is under Naruto's control, it was a small group.

Hafner and Agil seemed to like Naruto's plan as it made the most of the day, let them declare a small victory and made the final attempt easier. Kibaou, however, wanted to fight the last fight tomorrow.

"When Orlando gets back, we will hear from Nezha and him. If Nezha says no to wielding the weapon, then we fight Asterios tomorrow. If he says yes, then Orlando will vote, if there's a tie, I'll break it."

Nodding their acceptance to the decision. All three sat back satisfied with the outcome.

Sitting down with a thump, Nezha carried a travelling mat and looked terrified. Swallowing nervously, he sat before some of the strongest and most influential players in all of Sword Art Online. "W-What can I do for you?"

"Well, Nezha." Naruto began slowly. "You've told me before that you originally wanted to be a fighter but couldn't cut it with your FNC. I'm offering you a chance to change that."

Leaping out of his chair, Nezha looked like an excited puppy. "I'd love to be able to fight! Being a swordsman is my dream!"

Chuckling at his boundless excitement, Naruto handed over the Chakram. "This is a weapon that requires the Martial Arts skill and the Throwing Knife skill to use. You will have to go acquire the Martial Arts skill at the location specified on this map." Handing Nezha the prepared map with directions to the Martial Arts teacher, Naruto spoke once more.

"With this, depth perception won't matter, however, you will have to be extremely careful in fights, you'll be vulnerable to any enemy that gets close to you."

Bowing deeply, Nezha blinked tears out of his eyes. "The chance to be useful in a fight is worth dying."

"Then go and complete the Martial Arts quest as quickly as possible. There's an open slot in the Legend Braves for you."

The entire table chuckled slightly as Nezha tripped in his excitement leaving the bar.

Explaining the situation quickly to Orlando, the boy took on a complicated face. Naruto understood his dilemma. On one hand, they would have to delay for two days to accommodate for something what would only possibly help in the boss fight. Alternatively, waiting would reassemble the party that was splintered when Nezha admitted he was a liability to the party.

"Well?" Kibaou asked impatiently, still rough at the whole leadership gig.

"I think killing Nato tomorrow is a good idea. However, if the fight is going well, trying to take out Baran isn't a bad idea."

Nodding respectively to Orlando, Naruto leaned back and evaluated what he'd heard. "The only problem with what you said, is that spawning Asterios means either killing him, or sacrificing people to retreat most likely."

"True," Hafner murmured.

"That means, I'll make the call when Baran hits half. Is everyone comfortable with that?" Seeing the general nods of agreement, Naruto relaxed. "Now, there's one final thing I want to talk about with everyone."

Seeing general looks of confusion, Naruto steeled himself for what was sure to be an arduous series of meaningless conversations. "On the third floor, guilds can be formed. To symbolise our solidarity, I want to make one guild, and then appoint you guys to upper stations. This would have the benefit of keeping the frontline together, while also letting you hold some power over your party members."

"I don't know, man," Agil replied hastily. "Look, me and my group just kind of together cause we friends. A guild is a pretty big step."

"I understand that," Naruto politely replied, "however, it's time for you to think about what you can do to serve this world best. If you believe that going solo is best, then do that."

Looking uncomfortable, Agil had no reply.

"Actually, that goes for all of you. As frontliners we have a duty to the rest of the populace. We need to do what will help us to efficiently and safely, beat this game. Please think on what I've said. I don't expect an answer right now."

"I can practically hear Diavel saying that," Kibaou chuckled. "I'll ask my party, but I'm pretty sure we'll all agree. A unified force clearing the game is the best way forward. Otherwise we will fight among ourselves."

"Thank you for that Kibaou." Naruto nodded his thanks. "Goodbye."

* * *

Stepping out of the bar, Naruto yawned as he walked to his next destination. It was still only eleven in the morning and he had agreed to meet with Silica in Urbus at noon in one of the parks. Shaking his head at the strange use of his day, Naruto technically couldn't complain.

Entering the park just after eleven thirty, Naruto couldn't help but feel like he was going on a date. Although the town was overall dusty, this hidden park possessed a peaceful tranquility, small flowers and green grass adorning its twisted paths despite winter starting tomorrow.

Arriving at the specified coordinates, Naruto sat on a nearby bench and opened his menu. By using the draft function, Naruto was able to begin typing up the outlines of the raid tomorrow. Dividing people up into parties, writing down equipment, preferred role…

"Ah! Black Swordsman-sama!"

Voice shocking Naruto out of his typing, he let out a pathetic yelp. Looking up embarrassed, Naruto saw a short girl with brown pigtails bouncing with excitement.

"Hi Silica," Naruto greeted the girl with a smile. "Is that… Is that my nickname?"

Nodding happily Silica regaled him of how cool he looked standing on stage and how his black eyes had pierced her.

Stunned into silence, Naruto could only wave at the space beside him, an invitation to sit.

Flushing bright red, Silica fell silent at the offer. Sitting down demurely, Silica sat as far as possible from Naruto.

Smiling at her nervousness, Naruto's shock receded. The timid girl's actions reminded him of Sugu. Deciding to poke fun at the girl, Naruto smiled broadly. "Won't you sit closer to me?"

"W-What!?" Silica screeched shooting to her feet. "Oh, no I couldn't, I mean you belong to Sachi, and I'm only level seven, I'm not worthy of being your mistress. Not that I would, I mean…"

Naruto laughed at the mortified girl. Silica appeared to have frozen from embarrassment.

"D-did I say that out loud."

The quiet voice was barely audible. A prayer to some god to free Silica from the mistakes she'd made.

"I can forget it if you so desire," Naruto informed the poor girl. Extending salvation in replace of an absent deity.

"Yes please," Sachi breathed, slowly sitting back down.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked curiously.

Hands still shaking, Silica tried her best to answer. "I-I just wanted to meet you…"

Finding it hilarious, some hidden knot in Naruto's chest eased. While she was most definitely not his cousin, there were enough similarities that Naruto was glad he'd met Silica.

Unconsciously, Naruto reached out and patted Silica's head, the way he'd do to his cousin when Sugu acted like this.

"Eep!" Silica screamed, sitting up, back straight as a board. However, she made no attempt to stop the hand.

Realising this wasn't a girl he should have done that to, Naruto's hand froze. "Oh uh… my apologies."

"No, it was okay… I actually really enjoyed it! I mean uh…" Covering her face in embarrassment once again, Silica prayed again, this time that something would smite her, so she didn't have to live with these memories.

"Well I'm glad I didn't offend you," Naruto smiled gently, hoping to ease the poor girl. "You just remind me a lot of my cousin."

Giggling gently, Silica seemed to calm down at this comment. "I'm glad I got to meet you. You aren't as scary as I thought you may be."

"You thought I was scary?" Naruto asked, taken aback.

Nodding abashed, Silica explained. "During your speech, you just gave off this aura of toughness. Like you were a reliable leader."

"T-thanks… but how is that scary?"

"Well I'm wasting your time," Silica told him embarrassed. "And you seemed very stern and focused on clearing the game. Which is a good thing!" Silica ensured him.

Laughing at the explanation, Naruto felt budding affection towards this strange girl. The straightforward purpose and drive were refreshing. "Do you want to walk around the park?" Naruto asked her.

Nodding so fast her pigtails flew around, Naruto couldn't help but feel happy. He had initially thought that this meeting would be a waste of time as Silica had said, but Naruto was glad he'd done it.

"So, how are you finding fighting? Any problems?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh, very good!" Silica informed him cheerfully. "Ever since Asuna and Sachi helped, I've gotten a lot better."

"That's great," Naruto replied. "Where are your party mates?"

"I may have uh…"

"You ditched them to meet me?" Naruto asked incredulous.

Face scarlet, Silica looked at her feet. "I told them I was going shopping,"

Gaping at the girl, Naruto broke down into a fit a laughter. "You didn't bring them so that you'd get all my attention. That's pretty bold."

"I was going to bring you back as a surprise." Silica pouted.

"Ah, so you've successfully collected me now?" Naruto teased.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Silica plead, tears forming. "I just wanted our first meeting to be special."

As she looked down pouting, Naruto smiled evilly. Leaning in, Naruto whispered next to her ear. "Has it been special enough yet? Or is there something else we need to do?"

Whole body shaking, Silica's face was white as a sheet. "I can't do that to Sachi, can I? She set this up after all."

Continuing to mouth incomplete ideas, Naruto waved his hand in front of her face. "No response. Seems like I broke her for good this time." Sighing, Naruto walked the unfocused girl to a bench.

Opening his menu once again, Naruto worked on the raid guide overview while Silica slowly put herself back together.

It was around noon, the scheduled time of their meeting when Silica finally spoke again. "You were teasing, weren't you?"

"Ah, yeah I was." Naruto confirmed. "Sorry, Argo's habits have rubbed off on me. Speaking of Argo, you should probably avoid her."

"But her guidebooks are so good!" Silica whined.

"Yeah, I just don't think you'll survive her teasing." Naruto warned.

"No, it's alright," Silica denied. "I was just caught off guard, sorry about that."

Chuckling, Naruto closed his menu. "Well Silica. You have an hour booked, what do you want to do?"

"Tell me how you killed the first-floor boss!" Silica yelped bouncing up and down. "The stories all say you practically soloed it!"

"Illfang," Naruto trailed off, lost in memory. "The first-floor boss was interesting. His first form was all about brute force while his second was about speed. It made for an interesting contrast and the failure of the first raid."

"What did happen on the failed raid?" Silica asked curiously.

Smiling faintly, Naruto attempted to compress it into a couple of sentences. "The leader of the first raid was caught off guard by an unknown weapon and died. As a result, I called for a retreat ending in three more people dying."

Looking into the distance, the names of the people Naruto had sentenced to death played once more through his mind. Even now he didn't know if retreating was the right move.

"I think you did what you had to!" Silica declared grabbing Naruto's hand. "Their deaths aren't on you!"

Smiling, Naruto stared into Silica's resolute gaze. "Thank you. When you catch up, there'll be a spot in my party for you if you want it."

Mouth hanging half open in a daze, Silica launched herself at Naruto. "Thank you so much! That's been my goal since your speech! However, I can be of service, just let me know!"

Naruto sat there awkwardly, unsure if he should hug her back or peel her off of him. After a couple more seconds, Silica grasped what she'd done. Leaping back, Silica profusely apologized for her actions.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto waved it off. "Why don't we go meet your party?"

"Yes, that sounds perfect," Silica replied with a small voice. Standing up unsteadily, Silica walked in the wrong direction to get to the teleport gate.

"Wrong way silly," Naruto informed her. Walking beside her, Naruto extended his arm, "shall we?"

Nodding quickly, Silica's energy returned as fast as it had left. Placing her hand delicately on the curve of his arm, Naruto escorted Silica back to the teleport gate.

Opening the inn room door, Silica shouted excitedly, "Hey guys! Guess who I brought…" Trailing off, Silica's face blanched as she took in her mistake. Surprising two girls who thought they were in an impenetrable room was not the best decision.

Walking through the door, Naruto stopped abruptly at the awkward circumstances. One of the girls was lounging around in her underwear while the other had a tanktop and short shorts on. "Ah, forgive me for intruding," Naruto apologized quickly. Turning around, Naruto exited the room.

Entering again a minute later, Naruto was unsure what to say to the scarlet girls who had had their privacy invaded.

"So, you are Lisbeth and Liten, right?" Naruto asked to break the ice.

"I'm Liten," the girl who'd been wearing the clothes spoke. "You're the Black Swordsman."

"Actually, the name is Naruto, but close enough."

"Cocky bastard," Lisbeth spoke under her breath, clearly blaming Naruto for the infraction.

"Liz!" Silica complained. "Don't talk to him that way!"

"Look at him," Liz shot back. "He thinks he can walk in on us whenever and expect us to bow down to him just because he made a speech and fought a boss."

Tilting his head back, Naruto howled with laughter. "Thank you for that," Naruto spoke wiping tears out of his eyes. "I think I needed to hear that."

"Uh, you did?" Liz asked confused.

"Yeah, I think my head has gotten a little big lately." Naruto told her with a gleaming smile.

Blushing Liz looked away. "Don't think you're forgiven." Grumbling lightly, Liz's words held no heat.

"I'm sure I'm not. On a different note, I've heard you're a blacksmith Liz, how is that going."

"It's Lisbeth to you mister! And, well… alright."

As the girl turned downtrodden, Naruto tilted his head curiously.

Coughing Liten answered the question. "In order to get enough experience, Liz needs way more materials. For that to happen, Liz either needs people to come to her for repairs and the like or needs to find a bunch of ore to make weapons with. A lot of the guys don't trust a woman to do the job and with the Copper Caverns unavailable…"

"Maybe we can help each other…" Naruto inquired curiously. "I'll bring you to the Copper Caverns, so you can get your ore, but you have to obey my instructions to the word while we're in there."

"Seriously!' Shooting up, Lisbeth had hope on her face.

"But Sachi said to never go in there." Silica refuted. "And Argo's guidebook says only death lurks inside."

"That's because I scouted it out for her," Naruto informed them. "I have all the map data for it and experience fighting the enemies."

Shocked yet again, the three girls only gaped at him.

"So? What do you say, up for an adventure?"

"You bet!" the three girls replied, completely in sync with each other.

* * *

Blocking the snake, Naruto slaughtered it without really trying. "Right, Martial arts practice." Scolding himself, Naruto forgot to use his new Martial arts skills to deal with the enemies.

Turning to the girls, they were all much less confident then they had been earlier. Like Arthur previously, none of them had seen the approaching snake. "We're fine. Silica, light that torch I gave you and hold it in your left hand."

Nodding seriously, the girl followed the instructions intently. Lighting the torch, its flickering glow helped illuminate the interior of the dark cavern. Scanning it around, Silica located two veins of copper for Liten to mine. Pulling out her pickaxe, Liten began mining while the rest of the party stood guard around her.

Search skill proccing, Naruto noticed another snake coming. "Hey Liz, a snake is coming from that passage."

"It's Lisbeth," the girl grumbled, squinting down the passage for the approaching enemy. Finding it at last, Liz tried to copy Naruto by hitting it out of the air with her weapon. With a slight impact, the mace was deflected, and the snake continued on a different path. Colliding with her arm, Naruto got his first surprise of the afternoon.

Liz was knocked to her knees by the collision but that was all. Even her health stayed fairly high.

"Armour…" Breathing the word Naruto could hardly believe the answer was staring him in the face all this time. As long as the snake collided with armour that was too thick for it to penetrate, no paralysis could occur.

Getting back up, Liz smashed the snaked head in with her mace. Shattering into blue polygons, the girls cheered. "I guess these enemies are no big deal!"

"Congratulations!" Naruto told her. "You've discovered a way to trivialise this dungeon."

"What do you mean?" Liten asked having finished mining the veins.

"Liz's armour stopped the paralysis. That means if someone wears full armour, they can't get paralysed which makes this dungeon quite easy."

"And the poison butterflies?" Silica asked curiously.

"I have a strategy for them," Naruto told them with an evil chuckle.

Continuing, it wasn't long before they met one of the aforementioned butterflies. Scrapping the ground with his hand, Naruto found a small pebble. Picking it up, Naruto tossed it around in his left hand. Thanks to his dad and baseball, Naruto could throw with both hands.

Entering the butterfly's range quickly, Naruto cancelled its poison skill with Rage spike. When it went to against the ceiling, Naruto smirked at it. Cocking back his elbow. Naruto launched the pebble into the butterfly's soft wing.

With a pathetic shriek, the butterfly lost altitude. It seemed that the damage caused by one pebble without the Throwing Knives skill could only do so much damage.

Shrugging, Naruto mercilessly cut off one wing grounding the creature. "Would you like to do the honors?" Stepping aside, Naruto let Silica finish the downed mob.

High fiving the excited girl, Naruto couldn't help but smile at Silica's contagious good mood. Even in the depths of a Cavern of death, possibly the hardest area on the first floor, the girl was happy. Having her around would definitely be good for his mental health Naruto thought idly.

Continuing unabated for over an hour, Liten informed them she'd run out of inventory space. "I can carry some as well," Naruto offered.

"Yes please!" Liz chirped. As time went on, Liz seemed to have forgotten Naruto had seen her in her underwear and was in a sort of high thinking about all the ore they were collecting.

"We can't make him do that!" Silica rebuked harshly. "He is taking precious time away from clearing this game to help us out. How dare you force him to become a pack mule!"

"Ah, right," Liz admitted abashed. Taking quick glances at Naruto, it was like she was seeing him for the first time again.

"Are you two going to fight over him?" Liten teased.

"He's already with Sachi, Lit," Silica answered, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"Don't you know Silica," Liz replied in a teasing voice, "that just because there's a goalie doesn't mean you can't score!"

Coughing abruptly at her comment, Naruto was forced to do a double take of the girl. He had originally taken her to be surly and introverted but now…

"I wouldn't do that to Sachi!" Silica fired back unaffected. It really did seem like she was used to her teasing. "She's had enough problems with her relationship."

"Oh really? Whatcha do tough guy, cheat on her?" Liz teased.

"If it was with you, I wouldn't mind," Naruto answered, matching her tone.

"Whoa, no. Not cool." Liz denied, flushing bright.

"Yeah! It should be me if anyone," Silica pouted.

Coughing once again, Naruto changed the subject. "I'd forgotten that Sachi talked to you about that. Also, something about you living at a daycare?"

Stomping her foot, Silica raged. "I didn't want to live there, but Sasha was persuasive."

"Ah yes," Liten chuckled. "the teacher who scooped up all the children."

"Hey, you guys are making her sound evil," Naruto laughed. "She's just trying to help the scared children who can't return to their parents." Comprehending what he'd said too late, a silence descended over the group.

"I miss them," Siilica announced sadly. "But that's why we have to fight. So that we can see them again!"

Having said that, Silica marched bravely at the head of the party.

"How brave…" Liz whispered, the words barely reaching Naruto's ears.

"It's our job to keep her safe," Naruto told Liz with a smile.

Nodding her determination, Liz straightened her weapons and continued walking down the passageway.

Admiring the bravery of the group, Naruto followed them with a light-hearted chuckle on their quest for a bit more ore before turning back.

* * *

Standing up in a flurry, Joe watched stunned as the three figures returned through the front gate. Having been sitting on a bench watching the entrance, Joe was getting nervous. No message had come through about confirmed kills. Nevertheless, for all three to have survived. Did something go wrong? But at the same time, the usually upbeat trio looked defeated. Obviously hunting all day was bound to be mentally draining. To not notice him though? No, something was wrong.

"H-hey, how was uh grinding?"

Looking up shocked, the three girls apparently hadn't noticed Joe's approach.

"Oh. It was uh, fine." Mumbling a response, Argo's words were clearly a dismissal. Nodding sadly at him, all three kept going. Oh yeah, something happened.

Pausing, Asuna mumbled something to the other two that Joe couldn't hear. Gods, she was beautiful. His thoughts were still on this when the three were all focused on him.

"Wow, that was really nice of you to wait here for our return Joe."

Argo's hard words were probing. Did she know? Scratching his head, Joe ducked and hid his face behind his bangs. "I-I wasn't waiting for just you."

Wincing, the words were less than ideal.

"What, is any girl good enough for you?"

Sachi's piercing words, relieved Joe's main concern. Now they just thought he was a creep who was hunting women. "I-its not like that!" Joe plead. "I was just working on some things and happened to see you pass through. You looked a little down, so I thought I'd say hi."

The frantic words did the trick. Immediately their expressions softened into ones of guilt.

"Ah, right. Um, thanks."

Blushing, Joe nodded frantically at Asuna's words, causing his fringe of hair to bounce up and down.

"What were you working on?" Sachi's earnest question elicited more nerves from Joe.

"W-well…" Hesitating, the girls started to get confused at his refusal to answer the question.

"Well?" Argo's biting question was tinged with suspicion starting to return.

"Poetry."

The quiet words permeated the open space and halted all further words. Saying nothing further the girls left with a quick wave and a giggle on their lips.

"Damn it!" Cursing to himself Joe returned to his bench, tears threatening to leak. "Fine make fun of me, I'm used to it." And he was. Most of the reason he had turned to gaming and ended up trapped in SAO was due to his interest in poetry. It was back in elementary school when he first discovered the freedom of expression. When he tried to share it however, he was laughed at, rejected. They thought him odd. How dare he express emotion, write his feelings. So, he hid. He buried his emotions and stopped writing. Now in SAO, the urge had struck him again and wouldn't be denied. A place to express his guilt, his fear. How easy it would be to become lost in rage. The teasing had returned with it.

Gritting his teeth, Joe typed a quick message. _They returned alive. All of them._ If the world was going to reject him, maybe he would reject the world.

* * *

"So, they all survived." The words were clear and controlled. If the man felt anything upon learning the news, his voice didn't betray it.

"Joe confirmed them entering town less than an hour ago." Unlike his boss, the disappointment was rife in Morte's voice. "The collapse worked so well too."

"Yes," PoH agreed with a chuckle. "It seems like monsters will not be enough to solve our problems."

"Then you mean?" Smiling, Morte's face took on a visage of lust and arrogance. Sneer deepening the man didn't care for these underhanded tactics. He wanted to watch them cry in terror as he ended their lives. Personally. It was this man who had shown him his calling. For this he was eternally grateful.

"Perhaps," PoH agreed with an easy tone. The English word spoken perfectly belayed his mastery of the language. "We need an opening. Together they will easily overpower us."

Clicking his teeth in irritation, Morte reluctantly agreed. The strength they'd shown today was fearsome. They should have had enough monsters to take out an entire party. Furthermore, it had only been the three girls, no Naruto or his lackeys. "What now then?"

"Patience," PoH instructed. "This is only floor 2 of our dream world. The harder the game gets for them the easier it gets for us. Just keep close in levels to the frontline and an opportunity will present itself."

Drawing on his knowledge from the beta test, Morte licked his lips. Yes, there were certainly many openings on their way.

"In the meantime, we recruit. We need more people to truly conquer this world."

Smiling, the men shared a glance. Paradise was just getting started.

* * *

Flabbergasted, Naruto stood there stunned. Hands slightly shaking, Naruto could feel the panic rising inside of him. Sitting down, Naruto held his head in his hands. Heart thundering, his vision distorted into fractals as fear consumed him. It didn't seem possible. While he'd been in a park meeting with a girl, the people closest to him had almost died. The thought exacerbated the raw terror. Breaths came swift and uneven, as his whole body shook. Slowly, Naruto grasped upon the only other emotion he could find, rage. A raw desire to destroy anyone who even looked at them sideways. Imagining his hands crushing the hooded figures throat helped.

"I knew we shouldn't have told him," Argo grumbled. "He's not going to trust us to tie our shoes anymore."

"So, you mean to continue tracking him?"

Looking at each other the girls shivered. Naruto's voice was quiet and cold. Stepping forward, Argo knew that his was her battle.

"We do indeed. You need to focus on clearing the game, we will deal with removing this guy."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

Not expecting the cold rationality, Argo was slow to answer. "We're still working on that, but there's a prison in the Black Iron Palace."

"I will let you continue your search on one condition."

Blinking, Argo nodded to hear the term.

"That when it comes down to it, at the end of it all, that you prioritize your life. Do you know what I'm asking of you?"

Hanging her head, Argo spit out the conclusion that she too had come to. "That I kill him. Why do you ask this of me?"

"Because I need you, all of you, to come back alive."

"W-we can run away," Argo disagreed. "There are other ways of dealing with this."

"I won't let you risk your life on collecting information unless I know you're willing to defend yourself."

"It's unfair of you to ask this of her," Asuna disagreed. "We told you this in confidence assuming that you'd handle this well and support us."

"Unfair?" Naruto growled, "YOU ALMOST DIED!" Unable to repress it any longer, all of Naruto's supressed anger and fear exploded out of him. "I refuse to let you risk your lives chasing a man who is trying to kill you while you have no method of defense!"

"You have to let us do this," Argo denied. "regardless of how risky it is, this man is obviously trying to stop our progress in the game. It is essential to remove him, and for that we need knowledge."

"I can't…"

"Why? Why can't you!?"

Panting Argo yelled her demands. Staring Naruto in the eye, Argo wasn't sure what she wanted to hear. Someone like her uncle would have commanded her to do this.

"Because I love you!"

The declaration silenced the room as all three girls were stunned. Casting her mind back, Argo was positive it was the first time she'd ever heard Naruto use the word.

Wrapping his arms around the short girl, Naruto whispered into her hair. "So please, come back alive."

Filled with warmth, Argo didn't know what to do. She could feel Naruto's whole body slightly shaking from terror. Mind made up, Argo did what she had to. She put her life above all else. "Then if I have to, I'll do what I must so I can return to you."

Looking at the scene, Asuna felt her heart break. She'd lost before had a chance. Everything up until now no longer mattered. He loved Argo; she'd claimed the mysterious boy's heart. Looking over at how Sachi was faring, Asuna fought off tears. Sachi wasn't trying, it was obvious she was on the verge of collapse. Asuna knew no matter how much this hurt her, it must hurt Sachi a thousand times more. Walking over, Asuna pulled Sachi into a hug.

Placing her head against Asuna's shoulder, Sachi let herself cry. She had prepared for this, had known it would probably happen at some point, but for it to come to this point so suddenly, Sachi couldn't handle it. She should be happy for Argo, and she was, but for now, Sachi cried.

"Huh?" Looking up confused, Sachi was confused who had just hugged her when she felt another pair of arms surround her. "Naruto?"

The pain in Sachi's voice, made Naruto wince. Thinking back on it, he hadn't been very clear. "I didn't just mean Argo, I love all of you, I don't know what I'd do if I lost one of you."

"Eep!" Asuna's face went bright red. "T-that's a bold statement mister!"

"Ah, right," Blushing slightly, Naruto was left speechless for several moments. Glancing at his head, Naruto took a moment to compose his words. "It wasn't a lie though. Over the past few weeks, I've really been enamored with your drive, personality, and beauty. I'm sure you don't feel the same, but I don't want to see you die."

Chuckling slightly, Sachi wrapped herself around Naruto. She'd been foolish to think he'd leave her. He'd promised her and she'd doubted him once again.

Mind racing, Asuna didn't know what to do. Every detail of the room stood in harsh contrast. She took in tiny details she hadn't noticed before, all as she tried to figure out what she should do. Her heart screamed at her for a confession, but her head… "You really do think women will fall all over you with a smile and compliment."

Sniffing with disdain, Asuna turned her back on Naruto, unsure why she'd done what she just did. It had been instinctual, for some reason she'd lashed out. Wanting to bury herself in a hole, Asuna stood staring at the wall, unwilling to leave yet unsure how she could stay after saying that.

Blinking listlessly, Naruto felt like he'd just received a hit from her rapier. Especially because, maybe, just maybe, it was true. Hanging his head, Naruto wondered if he had just assumed, she liked him because she was friends with his girlfriends. Even that statement was a sign of his rampant ego. "My apologies Asuna, it was foolish of me to say that to you."

"It was," Asuna agreed tonelessly. She could hear the damage she'd done in Naruto's voice, yet she applied more. Touching her face, Asuna found tears, yet she made no move to apologize. Asuna was sure she loved him, if Naruto tried to kiss her, Asuna was certain she'd let him, but right now, some final defense mechanism was making her flinch out. Asuna really only knew love from her brother. Her father was never around, and her mother was harsh and demanding. Hearing someone say they love her… Asuna had been shaken to her core.

Looking at each other Argo and Sachi were unsure what to do. On one hand, not interfering would sever a large part of the connection between Asuna and Naruto, leaving more for them, but to do that… they would have to leave both their friend and boyfriend in pain. Nodding at each other, the girls came to a decision. Really there was no competition.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it Naruto," Sachi comforted. "She's just a little shaken up from the events of the day; we all are."

"She was pretty clear," Naruto drawled. "But it doesn't matter, she was correct. I got carried away."

Sneaking over to Asuna, Argo pulled on Asuna's ear to bring her down to Argo's level. "What the hell was that Aa-chan!? One minute your confessing that your head over heels for him, and now you're being a tsundere bitch without the dere."

"I-I don't know…" Asuna whispered back. "My heart soared, but my mouth spoke on its own."

Eyes full of pity, Argo saw herself reflected in Asuna's eyes. A girl who didn't know how to accept the love of others.

"Go," Argo whispered to the girl. "Spend the night by yourself. After the boss raid tomorrow though, I'm locking you two in a room until you at least apologize."

Nodding Asuna staggered to the door. She could barely walk on her own. She still didn't fully comprehend what she had just done. The scenario of her dreams had happened and Asuna had basically stabbed him in the heart. No, stabbing him in the heart would have hurt less. Stumbling into the second room the four of them had rented, Asuna collapsed in tears on the bed.

Back in the other room, Naruto too collapsed on a bed. Holding his head, Naruto just laughed at his naivety. For some reason, he'd thought Asuna had been upset when he'd told Argo he loved her. Obviously, she was just comforting Sachi. Wondering how he'd misread the situation so badly; Naruto was shaken to the core. He'd always thought he had an ability to read people, to determine when they were lying, when they wanted something. But with Asuna… Naruto apparently had no idea. All he knew was that he wanted to see that smile again. That full-on, no reservation smile that had lit up the room. That one smile, and part of Naruto's heart chased after it.

"Hey… Naruto, it will be alright. Asuna was out of line, I'm sure she'll apologize to you tomorrow."

"Why should she?" Naruto countered with a self-deprecating laugh. "She was right after all. The three of you were risking your lives trying to get information on a menace, and I'm lounging around flirting with girls."

"So, you really hit it off with Silica and co, eh Nar-boi?" Argo inserted herself dully into the conversation. "Look, I know Asuna's words hurt, you opened your heart to her, and she threw it away like trash. But I swear to you they weren't true. She doesn't hang out with you because she has no other choice, just remember that."

Smiling faintly at Argo, Naruto chuckled. "That's all you have to say? That I hit it off with them?"

"We did know your schedule for the day," Sachi explained exasperated. "and honestly, if flirting with little girls is what you need to clear this game, then go ahead."

Chuckling Naruto felt that pain in his heart ease. "I think I'm good, but I did offer her a spot in the party when she catches up."

"Really?" Argo asked surprised, "Is she so cute you can't stop staring or is she actually skilled?"

"Her skills aren't bad," Naruto answered, ignoring the first part. "But I think her attitude will really help the relieve stress in the frontline."

"You shouldn't try and use her as a mascot!" Sachi objected with a pout. "She's going to get her hopes up!"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked bewildered. "All I did was offer her a place in the party…"

Sweating as the two girls rolled their eyes at him, Naruto reached for a new subject. "Oh, right. We went to the Copper Caverns Argo. I have counters for the enemies in there!"

"Oh. There."

Laughing nervously, Naruto understood a bit late it probably wasn't the best place to bring up. Argo still felt guilty for almost getting him killed in them.

"I'll update the guidebook when I get chance. Just write it out for me."

"Well, this has been interesting," Sachi laughed awkwardly. "I'm glad we're only killing Nato tomorrow."

Grunting his agreement, Naruto stretched. "I'm going to go to bed. Try and refocus for the raid tomorrow."

"Yeah. A lot happened," Argo agreed. "Also, I love you too Nar-boi." Kissing him lightly on the cheek, Argo cuddled in tightly to his side for sleep.

"Obviously, I do too," Sachi laughed.

"You do what too?" Naruto teased.

"I…" Pausing, Sachi worked her blush under control. "I love you." Quickly pecking Naruto on the cheek, Sachi dove into the pillow to hide her face.

Laughing huskily, Naruto wrapped his arms around his girlfriends and searched for sleep; grateful that they had survived another day.

* * *

"Wow! This gear is excellent!" Examining her knife, Silica also glanced back and forth form her new armour.

"With the copper Naruto got us, it was a piece of cake." Trying to be humble, there was a hint of pride in Liz's voice.

"Silica's right Liz. Take more credit."

Shaking her head, Liz denied their claims. "It's all a simple system, anyone could do it. It all just numbers and experience points."

"Maybe," Liten conceded. Silica was too far lost in her own gear to keep answering. "But, if I had a choice, I'd still choose your gear."

Flushing, Liz had to look away from the too serious Liten. "Well fine. You're welcome for the gear."

"Enough about the gear!" Silica interjected, totally contradictory to her behaviour, "did you meet your threshold?"

"Ah, yeah." Liz agreed after checking quickly. "I can definitely work Iron now. Steel is still challenging to forge."

"But still," Liten emphasised, "Even the ability to forge steel on the second floor is unheard of."

"The frontline is moving on soon tomorrow though yeah?"

"The third then. Regardless, I would bet you have the highest blacksmithing skill in the game!" Silica proclaimed happily.

"So, what are you planning on doing?" Liten pestered. "I'm sure Naruto could always set something up for you."

The teasing tone wasn't lost on Lisbeth. "Shut up. I'll adventure with you for awhile more. Try to build up some more reliable experience before peddling my skills and wares."

"Suit yourself," Liten replied with an easy shrug. "I enjoy having you around."

"Same!" Silica declared with a happy smile, "We can all join Naruto's party together!"

Coughing awkwardly both Lisbeth and Liten looked down. "Huh? Wait, you're both not also falling for him? Are you?"

Silica's high-pitched question met no reply. The enigmatic boy had left quite an impression.

* * *

_Wednesday Dec 21__st__, 2022_

With tear-ridden eyes, Asuna's hid her face securely behind her cloak. If one were to glimpse it, even the most unobservant person would know something was wrong. Even if the virtual world of SAO removed most marks instantly, her bloodshot eyes had refused to fade.

Walking through the first floors of the labyrinth her eyes were focused squarely on Naruto's back. The solid force moved resolutely through the corridors. It was doubtful anyone could tell something was wrong. But Asuna could. Normally this is where Naruto would let the raid handle the enemies as a team. Create a bond. Instead he plowed through them with attacks bordering on recklessness.

Biting her lip to stay focused, Asuna had to focus on walking straight. If she had slept last night, she didn't know. It was so fitful the nightmares were probably worse than her waking visions. That easy trusting smile morphing into pain. Like the stab of a knife another wave of guilt threatened to cripple her.

"How you doing?"

Falling back, Argo opened the conversation with gentle words.

Working her jaw, Asuna had no reply. Half of her wanted to confess her guilt to Argo, but the other half didn't know how. Her mind was a confused mess of jumbled ideas and feelings. She didn't think it was possible to feel this much. Even now she was mere moments away from a breakdown.

"Not good I'm guessing. Well you just listen then."

Glancing briefly at Argo, Asuna was stunned by the controlled fury burning in her eyes. Argo truly and deeply loved Naruto. It didn't matter how long they'd known each other. It didn't matter that Argo was only one of the girls Naruto loved. Argo would go to any lengths for him because she knew that Naruto would do the same.

Bowing her head, Asuna prepared herself to get chewed out. No doubt Argo's anger was at her for hurting Naruto.

"This boss fight is coming at a very bad time."

Snapping her head up, Asuna's confusion lead her to say her first words of the day, "What do you mean?"

"Naruto may be hiding it better, but he's really torn up inside. His confidence has been shattered. We need a leader, and no one's better than him."

"What can I do about it?" Asuna snapped back. "He's far better than me anyway."

Ignoring Asuna's sass, Argo continued talking like she was lecturing a petulant child. "Guard him. If he does something stupid, I'm counting on you to make sure he survives it."

The reality of the situation finally sank in for Asuna. They weren't walking around in the labyrinth for fun. There was a very real chance that some of these people may not survive the day. "Naruto will not die while I draw breath."

The confident declaration seemed to have stunned Argo slightly. "His own personal bodyguard, heh."

"Well, I'm no Singulare, but I'll do my best."

The unfamiliar word made Argo cock her head to the side but there was no time for questions, more monsters had come.

* * *

"Here we are," Naruto declared outside the doors of the second-floor boss. "I'm sure you are tired of hearing this, but the primary objective is to kill Nato the Colonel Taurus. Once he has fallen, we will make the decision whether to press forward or back off and wait for the chakram. Let's go."

Opening the door with his left hand, Naruto entered the circular chamber. With a flat surface some 20 metres high, Naruto determined that must be the surface of the third floor. Unlike Illfang's chamber, this one Illuminated all at once. Standing like statues in the middle of the room, Baran and Nato looked like a classic big brother trope. Smirking at them, Naruto nodded once at Kibaou, before heading for Baran. Dodging an erroneous Hammer swing, Naruto launched a Vertical Arc into Baran's stomach. Howling with fury, Baran moved to reply.

"Switch!" Yelling strongly, Tetsuo jumped in front of Naruto and cleanly blocked the attack.

Frowning, Arthur couldn't help but feel chills as he watched the fight unfold. On the surface, everything was proceeding perfectly. Baran was slowly losing ground, and Nato, the main objective, was being systematically dismantled by four parties. All in all, the fight was proceeding exactly as scripted. However, Arthur still couldn't peel his gaze away Naruto. There was something slightly odd about the commands.

"Asuna, parallel sting."

Breath hitching, Arthur figured out what was off. Naruto hadn't used Asuna's name in a fight since before Illfang. Their timings were often instinctual or timed with a glance. Not only did he call her name, he told her what skill to use. It was like Naruto was instructing someone he didn't know. Praying everything went well, Arthur waited for Nato to die.

It happened when Baran was halfway through his third bar, Agil slammed a powerful two-hit sword skill on Nato's head scoring a critical hit and the last attack bonus. Jumping away from Baran, Naruto turned towards the approaching party leaders.

"Well, that went well!" Hafner declared. "We should retreat now before Baran enters his last bar."

"I think we should finish it now."

Naruto's firm declaration silenced the party leaders. Looking at each other nervously. No one spoke up one way or the other.

"Well?" Naruto asked testily.

"I'm not sure I see the advantages in continuing," Agil admitted confused. "We accomplished our goal."

"But why retreat?" Naruto forced, "this fight has been easy so far. I doubt Asterios will change that. I mean, no one even entered yellow."

"I agree," Kibaou declared. "Imagine the morale boost when the third floor opens up!"

One by one, the party leaders agreed to continue. Smiling, Naruto turned back to Baran. "We finish this fight now! When Baran hits the last stage Damage dealers move in, I want him dead two and a half minutes after entering that final stage."

"Ah shit," Arthur mumbled to himself. He should have tried harder to talk to Naruto earlier. Now the raid was locked into a boss fight where Naruto was obviously not in the correct mind state. Gritting his teeth Arthur was struck by indecision. The same indecision that plagued him his first night was coming back.

Either Arthur could undermine Naruto's leadership to try and get a retreat or go along with a rushed raid. Putting his faith in Naruto's skill, Arthur prayed that nothing would go wrong.

With Tetsuo hitting Baran, the Taurus general reared back his head and howled as it entered its rage. However, the sound was superseded by a gong. Reverberating around the room, the sound silenced everyone. Holding their breath out of awe and fear, the king appeared. Dwarfing even Baran, Asterios entered the room. Matte black from head to toe, light appeared to avoid this creature from the depths of hell. Wielding a golden hammer, he gave off an aura of dominance.

Freezing up, the raid simply stared at the giant Taurus who had come to deliver royal punishment. Its giant form towered over the sixteen-foot Baran. Head almost scraping the roof, the six-health bar Asterios looked down upon the raid as a human would on a swarm of ants.

"MOVE!" Naruto screamed, snapping them out of their stupor. Asterios had spawned in the middle of the room, almost on top of Kibaou's party.

"You heard him! Party C engage!"

Sighing with relief, that everything was back on track, Naruto moved in on the now raging Baran. With Baran starting a Numbing Detonation, Naruto leaped. Holding the stance for Horizontal in midair, Naruto's blade collided solidly with the middle of Baran's hammerhead. With a bone jarring jolt Naruto's sword was harshly repelled. Likewise, Baran's hammer skidded off the ground, Numbing Detonation's zone of stunning not proccing.

Smiling his victory, Naruto landed and chained it directly into a Flash Blow. One of the starting Martial Arts skills that he had practiced the previous day. While the damage was minor, it was immediately followed up by the rest of the assigned damage dealers. Receiving seven sword skills, Baran's final health bar dropped almost 10%.

Rearing back from the damage, Baran chained it into another Numbing Detonation. Growling, Naruto rolled as far from the impact sight as he could. Glaring at the sparks of electricity that arced towards him, Naruto waited to see what the outcome would be. Luckily, the sparks shattered against his protector and were repelled. Using the opening, Naruto hopped on top of Baran's hammer head.

Leaping off the hammer as Baran raised it, Naruto unleased a Vertical Arc against Baran's horns. Having taken a powerful blow in a nigh unreachable weak point, Baran fell backwards.

Crashing with a terrible thud, Naruto's scream of, "Now!" proved unnecessary. Rushing in, Baran took sword skill after sword skill, causing his health to drop precipitously.

"Ah, shit!" Naruto cursed. Despite the insane amount of damage that been output in the short span, the boss wasn't ready to call it quit quite yet. Rolling over, Baran focused all of his rage on one point, Naruto. Literally glowing red, Baran's defense continued to drop and his attack ascended.

With almost no armour to his name, Naruto was running the risk of dying to a critical hit. Holding his ground, Naruto met the charge straight on. He may have been wrong about Asuna, but this he was unbeatable at. Shouting his defiance to the world, Naruto ran in to counter Baran, a final gambit to remove the distraction so the real boss fight could begin.

With Tauruses, the horns were the weak point, yet Baran was approaching head lowered, apparently unconcerned about that. Doubt flickering, Naruto hesitated a moment but no more. Growling at his cowardice, Naruto started his most powerful skill, Vertical Arc.

Just before the skill went off, a force hit Naruto in the side, Arthur. Having shoved Naruto out the way, Baran's sharp horn cut deeply into Arthur's side. With all the power of an enraged floor boss, Arthur lost close to half his health in one hit.

Standing up straight, Baran went back to his old tactic, Numbing Detonation. Moving away from spot, Naruto barely got out of the way of the descending hammer, which left him almost in the center of the stunning zone. This time, his protector couldn't save him. Freezing in place, Naruto was stunned. Anneal Blade dropping to the floor, Naruto clenched his unmoving jaw. Six seconds of being unable to move.

Smiling down at him, Baran readied his hammer once again. Another Numbing Detonation.

"I won't let you!" Rushing in, Asuna seemed to fly through the air, cloak forgotten. Unleashing a Parallel Sting at the top of her trajectory, the tip of her rapier caught the handle of Baran's hammer. With a clanging noise, the skill was disrupted.

"Kill it!" Naruto yelled at his stunned party. Rushing forward himself, Naruto was determined to make that Baran's last skill.

With multiple glowing flashes tearing into his flesh, Baran fell to his knees and let out a piercing cry before shattering. Ignoring the fallen side boss, Naruto simply stared at the figure which had risked themselves for him. Asuna. Meeting his gaze, Asuna's eyes trembled. Naruto was unable to turn away from her. He knew he needed to, there was still a fight going on, but he couldn't wrap his brain around it. Why? Why did she risk herself like that? It didn't make sense. At worst Naruto would have gotten paralyzed by the second hit and been out for half a minute. All she had to do was lead the attackers in finishing off Baran.

Shaking his head, Naruto forced himself to look at the main event, Asterios. He would deal with Asuna later.

Turning just in time, Naruto got to see the famed super attack. Leaning back, Asterios puffed up his cheeks before unleashing lightning at the raid party. Surprisingly, most of them actually dodged it.

"Kibaou, status report!"

"It's bloody strong! But slow, so we've been able to deal with it so far."

"Good, and that lightning breath attack?"

"Doesn't use it much when people are whacking away at it. The dodge when the eyes glow helps a ton, but it's still hard for everyone to dodge."

Nodding, Naruto moved in to assume command. "Party D out, E in."

Moving to obey his commands, Agil brought his out while Orlando waved his seven-man party forward. That gap which Hafner had left was originally supposed to have been replaced by Nezha, but Naruto hadn't waited for him to collect the Martial Arts skill. Collecting aggro with the Howl skill, Asterios used the Numbing Detonation skill.

From what Naruto had deduced so far, Asterios' detonation ability actually had a lower stun rate than Baran's and Nato's. What it made up for was an increased radius, which made it harder for previously stunned players to get out of range of a repeat ability. Therefore, when Asterios' hammer rang off the stone floor, all seven men were inside the stunning circle. Like dominos, six of them fell to their knees stunned. All but Shivata, who possessed highly upgraded heavy armor.

It was a glaring demonstration of the difference in equipment quality. Orlando's party had spent a long time helping Nezha try to overcome his FNC, combined with Nezha then becoming a blacksmith then switching back to fighter, Orlando's party was quite obviously the weakest here.

"Party A, cover them!" Moving forward himself, Naruto unleashed a Horizontal Arc on Asterios hoping to disrupt the next skill. Dealing a pitiful percentage of Asterios' max health, Naruto was dependent on Tetsuo taking aggro.

Turning towards the new challengers, Asterios kicked at Tetsuo. Grunting, Tetsuo slid back almost ten feet. When his health bar stopped moving the amount lost was less than 10%. A mixture of how good Tetsuo's gear is and that the blow was absorbed correctly. Following up, the rest of Naruto's party beat on Asterios with further skills.

Howling, Asterios finally entered his second health bar. Fixing his grip on his sword's handle, Naruto prepared himself for a long fight. With Asterios attempting to use yet another breath attack, Naruto decided to try something. Pulling a stone out of his pocket, Naruto cocked his arm and waited. Releasing the rock as Asterios moved to fire, the stone collided perfectly with his horns and did… nothing. The damage was unperceivable, and the breath continued, it was obvious a heavier object was needed to deal with the attack.

"You'll need to do better than that, Nar-boi," Argo teased. "Mind if I try next time?"

Nodding, Naruto didn't trust himself to talk to her. He was still too shaken up by Asuna's actions to try and talk to any of the girls. Barking more commands, Naruto focused on what he was good at fighting. Noticing and manipulating enemies' weaknesses. The problem was, Asterios' only weakness was how slow the overgrown cow is, Naruto thought bitterly.

Moving back in, Naruto released his pent-up rage on the immobile Taurus. Almost reaching the ceiling left Asterios with long recharge periods and obvious skills. It was strange, but he almost wished the boss was harder in the way Illfang was. Lightning fast skills that required preparation to counter. The only mechanic of Asterios that was interesting was his breath attack.

When Asterios went to do another breath attack, Naruto watched interested, as Argo brought out a throwing pick to test her luck. One of the few people Naruto knew who used them. Currently there were few benefits to investing a skill slot into Throwing Knives, but if it was shown to be useful against bosses, it would likely become more popular.

Watching with anticipation, the steel pick flew a straight line leaving a glowing red trail behind it, reminding Naruto of a comet. The speeding pick collided much harder than Naruto could have ever of managed without the skill, and the result showed. Critical damage noise ringing out, Asterios choked on his lightning. Smiling, Naruto nodded his appreciation to Argo. With the breath now having a counter, the raid's supply of paralysis heal wouldn't deplete as quickly.

Sending Hafner's party F in, Naruto called over Orlando.

"Is something wrong?" Orlando asked concerned.

"No. I was just wondering if you'd be willing to sit out the rest of the fight. In your party, only Shivata really has the means to fight against this boss."

"You can't do this to us!" Orlando growled. "We didn't have to tell you about that blacksmithing trick."

Cocking an eyebrow at him, Naruto stared at Orlando long and hard.

"Eh, that is… We have a right to fight this boss as well."

"As you wish. Remember though, your party members lives are on your head."

Face blanching, Orlando nodded stiffly before returning to his party.

"F out, A in!" Calling for yet another swap, the fourth bar emptied. Pounding away at the tree trunk-esque legs, Naruto struggled to keep his emotions under control. He knew the decision to continue fighting had been foolish, and his behaviour against Baran even more so, but when it went so well, it was hard to find faults.

With Asterios now in his fifth health bar, the Numbing Detonations came more frequently, and the monotony increased. Due to investing money into the tanks' gear, they were usually saved from the stun, but the damage dealers got caught.

"Hey Nar-boi, I'm down to a dozen picks."

"Save them for the final stage then." Replying without looking, Naruto made his decision. It may cost them some time but possessing a means to cancel the breath when Asterios raged may be crucial.

At that moment, like Asterios had heard their conversation, he sucked in a deep breath. "Dodge it!" scream echoing over the din of the fight, the raid was obviously confused, but understood the situation.

Recovering admirably, Kibaou led his party, the targets of the breath, in dodging away from where the lightning was aimed.

Having managed to escape with no paralysis victims, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they stayed vigilant, even without cancelling the breath attack, they should be fine.

Switching in Kibaou's party, Naruto kept his eye on Joe. He seemed to keep sending nervous glances this way, as if he was scared on Naruto. Playing over the conversation they'd had two days ago, Naruto couldn't recall anything that warranted this kind of caution. Unless… Tracking Joe's eye line, Naruto was less certain the glances were actually at him. They were at his party for sure, but not necessarily him.

Frowning, Naruto put it in a growing list of things he'd get around to when there was time. Unfortunately, Joe's distractions proved disadvantageous for his party. Unfocused, an errant kick from Asterios caught Joe on the shoulder. Crying out, Joe was sent into a tumble status from the giant hoof.

"Joe!" screaming the name of his fallen comrade, Kibaou used a sword skill to try and slow Asterios down.

Appearing to snort in the face of scratching toothpicks, Asterios sought vengeance upon the invaders who defied his royal will. Raising his mighty hammer above his head, the target of the blow was Joe.

"Tetsuo block it!" Naruto roared at the idle tank. Standing closest to where Joe was downed, Naruto knew that without a shield he would do nothing to stop the blow from the heavens.

Getting there just in time, Tetsuo crouched over the downed figure. With a resounding clang, the reverberations of the impact held dominance over the sounds of the room. Falling backwards, Tetsuo lost close to 30% of his health stopping an attack that wasn't supposed to be stopped. Thankfully, Joe got up with an uneasy nod to Naruto and resumed the fight against Asterios.

One crisis averted; Naruto clapped Tetsuo on the back for his heroism. "Good job out there."

"That was pretty scary, but I didn't even take all that much damage!" grinning happily, Tetsuo looked like a little kid.

"Heal up for our rotation. The rage could be dangerous."

Slowly but surely, the fifth bar continued to empty. Percentage by percentage, pixel by pixel, it emptied. Once again it was time. Retracting Hafner's party, Naruto inserted his own for when Asterios entered his final bar.

Howling at the sky, the once pure onyx skin began pulsing a dark red. Almost seeming to emanate an aura of pure anger, Asterios began its rampage. Sucking in air, for its breath attack, Argo intercepted it with a well-placed pick.

Relief that the mechanism for stopping it still worked, Naruto set to work on draining the final bar. Having finally reached a respectable moving speed, Asterios had reached its most dangerous point. On the flipside, it had also reached its weakest. The health bar was draining faster than any of the previous despite the high number of skills that the Taurus King was using.

"Coming through!" with a shout, Klein switched places with Arthur to rend ebony flesh with his new curved sword. Ever since the fight against Illfang, a feeling of discontent warred with hope inside of him. He'd seen a katana, they existed. The raw speed and control that Illfang wielded the weapon with sent spikes of jealousy into Klein. While he liked the curved sword, images of that katana taunted him.

Leaping back, Klein was replaced by Coper who used his skills against the lower leg of Asterios. Klein could practically imagine himself sitting at the computer, guiding this fight with a birds-eye-view of proceedings. Fighting something like this in first person was awkward as you had to crane your neck to see what the boss was doing.

Cueing up another Numbing Detonation, Klein's party scattered from the impact site. While they were still within the potential stunning range, the chances were so low at this range it wasn't worth worrying about.

Using Reaver, Klein felt an odd sensation in his legs. Blade impacting Asterios, Klein fell down almost on the boss. Stunned. Klein couldn't believe it. The sword skill hadn't been interrupted but he was still stunned.

Bringing back the foot that Klein had fallen besides, Asterios kicked him in a lazy arc over the heads of the watching raid party.

Closing his eyes for the impact Klein was praying he'd survive.

"Ouf!" a deep voice grunted. "Heavier than you look."

Opening his eyes, Klein was presently surprised to see he'd barely entered the yellow. On the other hand, he was now supported in the arms of a large man, Agil, Klein belatedly remembered. Blushing awkwardly, Klein attempted to roll out of the hold only for the man to drop him at the same time.

"Uh… Thanks for that." Dashing away from the awkward encounter, Klein drank a health potion and looked for his party mates.

Klein managed to reunite with his party just as a cheer went up from the raid; the final bar was now yellow. One twelfth of the floor boss' health was all that stood in the way of them now.

"Let's get him!" Cheering Kibaou led his party into the fray against Asterios.

Grunting, Klein was displeased at the switch. His party had been short-shifted, but Klein knew why Naruto had done it. He still had the recent stun debuff and was barely in the green. Another Numbing Detonation would have paralyzed him and compromised the integrity of his party.

"Sorry about that guys." Klein apologized to his forlorn party. "If I hadn't gotten kicked, we would still be in there.

Shrugging Arthur replied nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it. It was a strange interaction with an unlucky stun."

Nodding, the rest of the party affirmed they were just glad he was safe.

"Yeah, I'm good. That big guy, Agil, caught me."

As his party snickered imagining it, Klein went red. "Shut up." Focusing his attention of Asterios, Klein tried to ignore his party's jabs.

Performing well, Kibaou's party gave way to Agil's who traded with Orlando's. Unleashing a round of sword skills, Asterios' final bar entered red. The final stretch of the marathon fight was about to begin.

Becoming even more suffused with red, Asterios bellowed his final challenge. The last rite of a fallen king. Stepping forward, Orlando led his party to answer it.

"Be prepared to step in." Naruto whispered to Hafner. "This could go very wrong, very quickly."

"Noted." Hafner whispered back. The memories of his party dying to Illfang probably still plagued him. "Why did you send them back in?"

"Orlando wanted to go," Naruto shrugged. "He knows the risks."

Grunting, Hafner only waved his party into position to intercept Asterios at any moment.

Stomping around the middle of the chamber, Asterios picked up speed once again. Without reading the scenario correctly, it was now very easy to get hit by the boss. Swinging its hammer haphazardly, Asterios seemed to have given up on his lightning breath.

Roaring, Asterios took a page out of Baran's book, Numbing Detonation followed by Numbing Detonation, with a third just for good measure. Sparks consuming the party, in the aftermath, only Shivata remained standing. Of the other six, three of them were paralyzed.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto wondered if he'd just seen his first death in a raid led by him.

"I've got you guys!" Shouting his determination, Shivata stood resolutely in Asterios' path. Blocking a two-part skill followed by another hammer swing, Agil's party was able to retrieve the downed members and bring them to safety.

"Let's go guys!" Leading his party, Hafner relieved the beaten Shivata in the fight against the boss. Sighing, Naruto watched amused as the health fell into the final percentages. Deciding it would be rude to steal the glory from party F, Naruto leaned back and waited for the fight to end.

"Party F out, A in!" Calling the switch himself, Hafner switched his party out for Naruto's. Giving the man one last look, Naruto motioned for his party to finish the boss. However, with only a few pixels left, the other seven backed off as if in one precoordinated motion leaving Naruto to claim the Last Attack.

With a determined shout, Naruto's blade carved a bloodred V into the boss' leg. Stuck in the post-motion pause, Naruto waited for the explosion that would signal the end of the raid. Not seeing it, Naruto stared into the empty health bars. There, on the edge of the last health bar, a miniscule silver of red. Almost invisible to the eye.

Having taken too long, Asterios wound up to punch Naruto. Meeting the fist head on, Naruto punched back. It was almost humorous, David versus goliath the fists collided. Similar to the story, it was goliath who fell. Rearing back from the impact, Asterios howled his demise to the roof and exploded into polygons.

Sliding back almost 5 feet from the where the impact took place, Naruto snorted at the defeated boss.

"That was so cool!" Ducker shouted, as the congratulations banner appeared in the chamber. "Meeting the boss blow to blow for the last hit! You'll have girls lining up to join your harem after this!"

Scratching his head, Naruto only smiled awkwardly in response.

"Actually, before heading to the third floor, there is something we need to discuss, if you could all gather round."

Excitement and cheers muting a bit, the raid eventually gathered obediently around Naruto. "What's up?" Agil asked confused.

"On the third floor, a campaign quest starts. I believe it will be more prudent if we choose a group to do it now and let them finish it."

"How long is this campaign quest?" Kibaou asked with a slight pucker. Naruto knew it hurt for Kibaou to accept knowledge from the beta test, but it was still an exploitable resource Naruto would take every advantage of.

"All I know is that it was still going on the eighth floor. It most likely would have finished on the ninth from the information provided in the quest, however."

At this, most of the raid broke into nervous mutterings and whispers. Naruto understood. Even though they'd arrived at the third floor, the ninth seemed to be eons away.

"If we are to clear this game, we will pass the ninth eventually anyway." Continuing to talk, Naruto ignored his own doubts to remain strong for the raid group. "Rather than anyone doing that quest, I'd like to appoint a party which will deal with the campaign quests on each floor."

"So, you're looking for a volunteer party?" Hafner asked.

"In a way," Naruto agreed, "however, I already have a group in mind if they agree."

Locking eyes with Orlando, Naruto watched them gulp, fear deep in his eyes.

"The Legend Braves?" Kibaou sneered, "you think they're strong enough for something this important?"

Hearing the doubts of the other parties, Orlando went scarlet. Opening his mouth, Naruto cut him off.

"Yes, I do. This campaign quest is an excellent way for them to close the gap in levels as well. Does anyone disagree with this plan?"

When he heard no complaints, Naruto continued to explain. "On the path to the main city on the next floor, the path splits. We will continue right to the city while you go left and start the quest. You will need to break into two groups, one of three and one of four. Nezha can join when he is finished getting his skill. This is because there are two different sides that you can work the quest from, understand?"

Seeing a varying number of nods, Naruto nodded. "Then unto the third floor. Congratulations everyone!"

Walking up the stairs first, Naruto led the complete raid group onto the next stage of the game.

* * *

"Asuna…"

Wincing, Asuna wasn't sure what to say. She'd been reckless today during the boss raid. But when she'd seen Naruto about to get paralyzed, she couldn't stop herself. Biting her lip, Asuna hid her face behind her hood.

"Why did you do it?"

The quiet voice was full of uncertainty. Feeling awful, Asuna shuffled her feet. They'd had such an easy relationship before. A quiet chemistry allowing them to communicate immediately in battle. Today had been… painful.

"Well!?"

As she was pressed for an answer, Asuna sank further into her thoughts. She knew why she did it. But how could she say she loved him? No, it was better to apologize and leave. Maybe she could go back to being solo. He's bound to be happier without me around…

"Please! It's been eating at me all day…"

Hands on her shoulders, Asuna stared into Naruto's tearing eyes. Heart clenching, Asuna knew she could hide it no longer.

"I love you."

The soft words echoed eternally in her mouth. Even their breathing seemed to halt in response to Asuna's declaration. It was just the two of them. Argo and Sachi had been distracted by the festivities when Naruto had dragged her away. Standing on top of an isolated tree in the heart of Zumfut, the words disappeared into the surroundings. Swallowing, Asuna continued.

"Ever since you saved me, I knew you were special. Then you listened to me and offered me life again. You gave me hope and a second chance. I'm so sorry for what I said last night. I panicked."

Not replying Naruto simply stroked Asuna's cheek. Looking into her eyes, there was no need for further words. Pulling her towards him, Naruto kissed Asuna full on the lips.

Squealing, Asuna tensed up but made no move to pull away. Leaning into it, Asuna felt a heat build within her. So, this is what it feels like to be loved. Wrapped in warmth, Asuna succumbed to the building giddiness within her.

Her entire life, Asuna had been fed scrapes of love; enough to build a bond but no more. The priority in her family had always been work. Even with her brother, Asuna had always felt that they were more like two people forced to walk the same difficult path than anything.

Giggling, Asuna pressed her glowing face into Naruto's chest. Soaking in his presence, Asuna felt an invisible weight lift off her shoulders. The rest of the game, the years ahead of them… she was looking forward to it. As long as she could stand at this odd boy's side, she was content.

* * *

"Well, well. So, this is where you lovebirds snuck off to." Argo spoke drily, interrupting the couple. She had to admit; the result was to be expected in a spot like this. Standing atop one of Zumfut's great trees, the view was breathtaking. Night had fallen and brought with it a sea of stars. The endless lights illuminating the dark canopy was magical.

Shaking her head at them, Argo fought to supress the twinge of jealousy she felt. Laying down on a hammock together, Asuna's head was supported comfortably on Naruto's chest. With intertwined legs, it was apparent the couple had been here awhile.

Disengaging herself slowly, Asuna seemed reluctant to escape the embrace. Facing Argo with a half-hearted smile, Asuna realised it was time to come back to reality. They weren't star-crossed lovers, destined to complete each other. Asuna was merely one of many.

Catching sight of a shooting star, Asuna silently made a wish to herself. That she too could be like that star. It may burn up at some point, but of all of the multitudes, it shone the brightest.

Clenching her hand, Asuna held it over her heart. Like the night sky, there are many people who Naruto supports, but Asuna etched her promise into her heart. Even if she one day fades from sight, she will press forward with all her strength. She may not be unique, but she'd be special.

Staring at the resolute girl, whose gaze was fixed into the distance, Argo felt a swirl of complicated emotions. The same mixture that threatened to overcome her when she had told Sachi about the ethic settings. Even though nothing had come of that, strangely; Argo still couldn't help but feel the bile of defeat attack her throat.

It wasn't that Argo had been oblivious to them leaving the celebration to come up here, but Argo decided it was for the best. Yet each time she decided it was for the best, Naruto's attention was dragged to other girls. Rubbing her forehead in confusion, Argo tried to get her emotions under control.

When Naruto had run to Horunka with her, if Argo had then convinced him to continue with her, it was likely she would have him to herself by now. And yet… beneath the mild disappointment and jealousy… there was happiness. She enjoyed spending time with Sachi and Asuna. Even if these new girls that Argo had yet to meet got caught by Naruto's magnetism, Argo knew… she'd still love him.

Smiling faintly at how lovestruck she must be to agree to a scenario like this, Argo walked to where Naruto was slowly raising himself from the ground.

"Did the two of you have fun?" Argo teased.

"Ah, uh… yeah," replying awkwardly, Naruto blushed. "I know we never really talked about uh… adding someone else… but, uh…" Stammering incoherently, Naruto was unable to speak the reality warping sentence.

"You mean how you kind of added another member to your harem without consulting the members already in it?" Argo asked drily. "Well, Asuna was basically a member from the get-go."

"Only because you forced me to be present during your confession," Asuna retorted.

"I only did that because I knew you liked him too and didn't want to blindside you," Argo shot back.

Blushing, Asuna looked away with no reply.

Chuckling to himself, Naruto wrapped his arms around the girls' shoulders. "Let's go find Sachi, I'm sure she'll want to say something."

Giving the beautiful sky one final glance, Naruto retreated down the endless staircase to find the third girl who had a piece of his heart.

Under that same sky, a dark elf breathed her final breaths. Chest heaving under her breastplate, the elf stretched one hand towards a shooting star that danced through the canopy. "I'm coming… Tilnel…"

Her statement was true, but it hid a lie. She didn't want to die yet. From deep in her heart, a place buried out of sight from her fellow knights. A wish sprang forth. That a hero would save her. That someone would end this pointless struggling between the dark and light elves. One tear welled up at the corner of her eye. "At least, I'll be with my sister."

Bursting into polygons, a solitary tear remained suspended before succumbing to gravity. Falling to the forest floor, it too dissolved into the matrix of Sword Art Online. In the following silence nothing remained of the dark elf, or her last fervent wish.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey all,

Sorry again for the delays. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as we approach the end of part 2.

Catch you later,

asdf

* * *

Chapter 5

_Thursday, Dec 22__nd__, 2022_

"Well, that was fun," Naruto informed his party with a grin.

"It was kind of weak, to be honest," Asuna countered. The remains of the spider boss had just finished disappearing from the chamber. Looking around the deepest room in the two-floor dungeon, there was little of note.

Covered in aesthetic webs, the spacious room was home to the boss of the dungeon, Nephila Regina. While the spider had been initially fearsome, the party had disposed of it fairly quickly.

"Let's just get what we came for, yeah?" Argo broke in sounding bored. "Which didn't involve killing this thing if I remember correctly."

"You may in fact be right about that," Naruto agreed with a sly smile. "But what if it aggroed us while we were taking care of the quest?"

"You're an idiot sometimes…" Sachi groaned. Shaking off the last of the webs, she wasn't happy. Since only Argo had information on the boss, Sachi had been covered in webs from one of the boss' attacks. It was apparent that the feeling was far from enjoyable.

"Ah, cheer up," Naruto chuckled, patting the morose girl on the head. "You took one for the team."

"Ugh," Sachi disagreed, shivering from the memory. "Webs are gross."

"Oh really?" Argo asked with a malicious chuckle. "I bet you wouldn't mind getting covered in Naruto's webs."

"What the hell does that even… GROSS!" Shouting vehemently, Sachi pushed the chuckling info broker away from her.

"Keep it down please…" Tetsuo moaned eyeing the dark passageways. Illuminated solely with the lights of the torches the party carried; it gave off the feel of a genuine dungeon. From the junction, multiple sets of eyes appeared, creeping into the edge of the light.

"Looks like the other spiders wanted a chance to shoot you," Argo snickered looking at the approaching enemies.

"Indeed," Naruto laughed. "Hey look! It's one of the kinds we need for the quest!"

"What's the point of this quest line anyways?" Keita asked after the spiders had fallen to the party's blades.

"To establish a guild, dude…" Ducker answered confused by the question.

"I know that!" Keita snapped. "But why are we in a spider dungeon to establish a guild?"

"They think the spiders stole the guild symbol," Argo answered succinctly. "Once we kill enough of a certain kind, we report back and move onto the next suspect until we find it."

"Oh? Interesting!" Asuna chirped excited. "So, we're playing detective basically?"

"Meh," Argo shrugged. "You'd think so, but really we walk around the floor slaughtering whatever the mayor can think of before finally getting to target the real culprits."

"Ah," Asuna sighed, disappointed. "Who are the real culprits anyways?"

"Fallen elves."

"They're more than the two kinds?" Sachi asked, jumping in on the conversation.

"Yeah…" Argo nodded. "The forest and dark elves are warring factions, but both can be considered good. The fallen are for all intents and purposes evil."

Walking through the dark tunnels, the light seemed to dim as Argo talked. Almost as if the very mention of the fallen had seeped light from the air. Imperceptibly picking up speed, the party hastened to finish the quest so they could free themselves from the encroaching darkness.

Emerging from the dungeon, the light of the midday sun could just be seen through the mist and intertwining boughs that compose the canopy. Even if the forest of wavering mists wasn't a big improvement, it was enough. As a collective, tension eased. For most of them, that had been their first real dungeon. The labyrinths came close but were their own structure.

"If we ever go back in there it will be to soon."

Tetsuo's grumbled declaration was met by fervent approval from Sachi. For people like Naruto the dungeon wasn't so bad. You fight with one hand and hold the torch in the other. Sachi, had a two-handed spear. This meant dropping the torch before she could fight. Shield fighters like Tetsuo were in a way even more incapacitated. Either they didn't use a torch at all and depended on their teammates, or they had to store their shields to carry them. Neither option was ideal and could easily lead to dangerous mistakes. At this point however, everyone had built up a fair tolerance to battle and fear. Even against the queen, the party worked seamlessly to take her down.

Looking over his parties, Naruto felt a smile rise unbidden to his lips. While coordination and relationships in the group were not perfect, they were far better. Individual skills had vastly improved as well. He'd pit any one of his party members against anyone in the front lines and expect them to win. There was one nagging doubt though that washed the smile away. The fact that someone even stronger existed.

"What's the long face for?"

"Asuna." Taking a step away in surprise, Naruto had been too zoned out to notice her approach.

"Come on, everyone is waiting." Putting her hand out in offer, Asuna presented Naruto with one of her rare smiles.

Dazzled by its brilliance, Naruto took a moment before accepting her hand. Walking slowly, they'd fallen over 5 metres behind the rest of the party. Close enough to help in case of danger, but far enough away to talk in safety.

"Well?"

At Asuna's prodding, Naruto realized he still hadn't given her an answer. "I'm scared."

Caught off guard, Asuna stumbled a little before focusing fully on Naruto. "Of what?"

"That PoH character. I'm scared I won't be able to protect everyone. How many people has he already killed using his tricks?"

Frowning, Asuna's hand tightened imperceptibly around Naruto's. Starting slowly, Asuna's words gradually gained strength, "I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth. You won't be able to save everyone. The chances are astronomically low that all of us survive this game. All you can do is try your best and cherish these moments with everyone."

Bowing his head, Naruto took a minute to digest the advice. "You're right, I know you are. But what if my best isn't enough for this?"

This time it was Asuna that had no answer. Gripping Naruto's hand tighter she tried to fend off the shivers encasing her body. If Naruto's best wasn't good enough, then no one would be escaping SAO alive.

* * *

_Friday, Dec 23__rd__, 2022_

"A guild…" Swallowing, Naruto took a moment to collect his courage. Stepping before the mayor, Naruto confirmed his desire to form a guild.

"As you wish young man." Smiling the mayor sat back and waited for Naruto to fill out the settings in the popup menu. The main one being the name. After the guild was formed and Naruto received the guild master crest, the other settings could all be adjusted.

With shaky fingers, Naruto punched in the agreed upon name. Not leaving anyone out, the debate had roared back and forth numerous times, names' popularity rising and falling like waves. The oddest one had been Shippuden. What was that all about?

Having finished typing in the name, Naruto's finger hovered above the submit button. This was the point of no return. From here on Naruto would be a guild leader. Before he always had the option of stepping down and not getting involved in a leadership position. If he did this, there would be no option of retreat. No freedom.

On the verge of backing down, Naruto felt the ghost of multiple hands enveloping his. Driving away the ice that had frozen it, Naruto pressed the button. That was right, he was locked into this path long before he decided to form a guild. Those hands, they were the hands of his girlfriends. Suguha, his parents, Arthur as well. This was for them.

Casting one more glance at the name, Kyubi, Naruto paused once to consider it. All he knew about the spirit is that they were rumoured to take the appearance of beautiful woman and seduce men. Whether the others thought that Naruto was doing something similar or if it had deeper meaning he didn't know. Clearing his mind of the thoughts, Naruto chuckled before leaving to find his new guild members, it was time for a celebration… and a meeting.

* * *

"You want me? As sub commander? That's… I mean… Me?" Asuna's weak voice could scarcely be heard. Protesting nervously, the girl pulled her red hood lower over her face.

"Yeah, and you want me on recruitment and information?" Argo protested hotly. "You may as well just say you don't trust me in a fight."

Sachi merely silently pouted in the corner. No real role had been assigned to her. Apparently, she wasn't worthy of an executive position. She was indecisive about being hurt or relieved from not having a large role. However, every role Naruto had assigned, made perfect sense to her. They had fit so well with each person's personality Sachi couldn't help but feel like it was fate.

Arthur lead the backlines, Kibaou the front. That left Argo on recruitment and Asuna as sub commander. While Kibaou was a questionable choice, there was no real other option. Kibaou's support had brought a lot of the front liners who had originally abandoned Naruto back into the fold.

Frowning, Naruto glanced over the arguing girls. "Are you seriously questioning this?"

With just this one question, all argument disappeared. Lowering their heads in shame, Argo and Asuna nodded their acquiescence to the decision.

"So, who all decided to join?" Sachi asked nervously.

"Ah, that," face souring a bit, Naruto opened his menu to double check the confirmations. "Obviously Arthur, Klein and the rest of them joined. Kibaou and most of his party have accepted. Some of the other parties are on the fence. Oh, and the Legend Braves conditionally accepted."

"What conditions?" Argo inquired suspiciously.

"Just that they retain some authority over their decisions. Basically, they don't want to be micromanaged, which I had no intention of doing anyways."

Chuckling slightly, Naruto smiled at the thought. He didn't want the headaches of leading as it was. Remembering something, Naruto stuck up his finger.

"They also wanted the ability to create a subdivision. I'm not sure what that is though."

Rolling her eyes, Argo answered for her clueless leader. "A guild subdivision is a specially created group that can create their own design as well redirect up to half of the guild fees into their personal coffer. They're often likened to the branches of the U.S. military."

Frowning, Naruto's eyebrows came together as he thought about the meaning of giving the Legend Braves such a privilege.

"You could always say you changed your mind and not give it to them," Sachi chimed in, trying to help out the obviously stressed Naruto.

"No, he can't," Asuna sighed. "Although it sets a dangerous precedent the alternative is letting them make their own guild."

"Precisely," Naruto agreed. Stretching, Naruto resigned himself to receiving a bunch of whining once others learned about this.

"Why are you so insistent on one guild, Nar-boi?" Argo asked curiously. "Things went fine for the most part in the beta with tons of guilds running around."

"Cohesion," Naruto replied immediately. "By forming everyone under one banner, it reduces the chances of power struggles. While I understand that healthy competition could be good, it would be hard to maintain I think."

"I think I see what you mean," Argo mumbled, "the desire to be the best between competitors may let us clear at a faster pace, but if it gets out of hand…"

"Yeah, trying to farm elites to outright bloodshed may occur," Naruto sighed yet again.

"So, here you are instead," Asuna giggled. "Trying to make everyone into friends."

"Don't remind me," Naruto laughed while rolling his eyes. Receiving a notification, Naruto scanned it quickly. "It seems the boys have set up the party. Let us go."

* * *

_Sunday Dec 25__th__, 2022_

"Merry Christmas," Naruto greeted his girlfriends, early in the morning. "Are you ready for your presents?"

"Ugh, so this is why you were acting so strangely yesterday, isn't it?" Argo complained. Glancing at the clock in her HUD, it read 07:05. Groaning, Argo rolled over and threw her pillow over her head.

"C-Christmas!?" Asuna squealed. "But you never brought it up…" going scarlet, Asuna bellowed, "Naruto you dummy!" Throwing her pillow at Naruto, Asuna hid herself under her covers.

Put off by the less than warm welcome from two of his three girlfriends, Naruto turned nervously to Sachi.

"I was wondering if you'd forgotten," Sachi yawned. "But then again we've been exchanging gifts for long enough I shouldn't have worried."

Facing that angelic smile, Naruto's tension faded. Naruto had put a lot of late-night effort into making this happen. Even if only Sachi enjoyed it, the effort would be worth it.

At Sachi's words, the other two seemed to undergo a transformation. Looking first at each other, then at Sachi, something passed between the two girls.

"Please give us a moment to get ready," Asuna spoke stiffly.

"Yes. Just a minute."

"Uh… okay?" Sweating nervously at his girlfriends' strange tones, Naruto stepped out of the room. Just before the door closed, Naruto could have sworn he heard Sachi pleading. Deciding it had nothing to do with him, Naruto firmly shut the door.

* * *

"It's not my fault you two forgot about Christmas." Sachi complained to herself as she accompanied Asuna and Argo through the crowded streets of Zumfut.

"I didn't forget!" Asuna scowled, "but he never brought it up, so I figured he didn't celebrate it."

"Plus, it didn't really seem like the time," Argo agreed. "I mean, I know Kibaou is putting together something for tonight, but jeez…"

"Ugh," Sachi complained. "Hurry up with your gifts and let's get back. I was looking forward to spending the day with Naruto, not wasting all of his effort."

At Sachi's complaints, the girls gave each other guilty glances. After exiling Naruto from the room, they had basically attacked Sachi for not telling them about the gift exchange. Which is what led to them pacing the market area of Zumfut, frantically looking for a gift to give Naruto.

"Urgh…" Asuna mumbled. Frantically swishing her head from side to side, her hood was forgotten in exchange for better vision. "What did you get him Sachi?"

"So, now you need my advice on what to get your boyfriend for Christmas?"

Wincing from Sachi's scathing blow, Asuna nervously bit her nails.

"Maybe we should both chip in and get him one big thing?" Argo inquired, hoping to save the situation.

"Alright…" Asuna agreed. "But what would that be? A new sword?"

"His is getting weaker than even some base available swords…" Argo agreed slowly. "But that won't be cheap."

"Also, can we really force a new sword on him that he hasn't seen before?" Asuna doubted, stroking her beloved Wind Fleuret.

"True," Argo agreed with a groan. "And he just got a new chest protector."

"Maybe a ring?" Asuna suggested.

"Moving a little fast there, aren't you, Aa-chan?" Argo teased.

"Ah… I see how that could be taken the wrong way…"

Standing around, the girls started to panic much to Sachi's sadistic delight. Looking at each other, desperation mirrored in their eyes, Argo and Asuna's minds blanked.

"You all doing alright over here?"

Spinning towards the deep voice, "Agil," their voices rang out in synchronous surprise.

"Trying to get a gift for Naruto?" Agil puzzled after hearing their explanation. "As a matter of fact, I picked up a drop from some elves on this floor…"

"What is it?" Asuna and Argo asked hopefully.

"C-calm down there…" Agil stuttered. "Got a pair of nice leather boots. Good agility boost on em too."

"We'll take it," Asuna asserted immediately.

Facepalming at Asuna's assertion, Argo knew they were about to get scammed. Agil had no reason to sell it to them at cost when the customers were desperate.

"Do you got so little faith in me?" Agil laughed at Argo's expression. "I'll give you them at a discount. Can't have our glorious leader dying on us, you know?"

Narrowing her eyes at the man, Argo was surprised. She had sensed a businessman's aura from Agil.

"Seriously," Agil confirmed with a goofy smile. Opening a trade menu, Agil put the boots in there so the girls could look at its stats.

"How much?" Asuna asked curiously.

"10 grand."

Faces paling the girls looked at each other. After only a moment of hesitation they nodded.

"Deal."

Shaking his head, Agil bid the girls farewell. "That boy's in a whole heap of trouble," Agil murmured to himself. Hoping he would be able to hold it together for the boss fights, Agil left to meet up with his pals.

* * *

Sitting in the room, Naruto couldn't help but feel conflicted. This was not how he pictured this day going. He wanted to wake the girls up early, give them their presents and have a nice brunch. Now, however, it was creeping past 10:30 when the girls unceremoniously barged through the door.

Having spent Christmas morning sitting by himself had soured Naruto's mood. He had been excited and maybe slightly nervous that they wouldn't like his gift. But to be abandoned all morning…

"I'm so, so, sorry!" Asuna hastily apologized as soon as she entered the room. Bowing deeply the waist, it was truly a fearsome display of repentance.

Unable to remain upset in the face of Asuna's apology, Naruto waved off her concerns. "Ah, um don't worry about it. Did the three of you have fun?"

Flushing with embarrassment, the three girls realised they had been gone for a long time, all without telling Naruto where they were going.

"W-well, we should exchange gifts!" Argo declared.

"Y-Yeah…" Naruto agreed, scratching his head nervously. "Uh, I just want to say… If you don't want it, I understand."

Blinking nervously, none of the girls had a reply for the strange declaration from Naruto.

"Well, uh, here you go." Quickly scanning through his menu, Naruto materialised three items. Handing the girls three identical gift-wrapped boxes, it was clear they contained the same thing.

Opening it with nervous fingers, an item the girls were familiar with from the real world appeared, a jewelry box.

"N-no way…"

"Nar-boi, you didn't…"

Hands shaking, all three opened their boxes at the same time. Greeting them was a beautiful black and silver locket. Engraved in flowing, cursive letters were the words: _For my motivation_. Finding the latch on the side, it opened to reveal a picture. It was the four of them. Taken the night after Asuna started dating Naruto as well. Huddled together, the beautiful backdrop of the third floor could barely be seen in the small cut-out.

"It's beautiful…" The sentiment was shared by all three girls. Each turning over their identical lockets, they were in awe of the craftsmanship required to produce something like this.

"But how?" Argo asked stunned. "Not even going into the cost, how did you get your hands on something like this?"

"What? You mean the great Argo can't figure it out?" Naruto teased.

"A shop? No, impossible… A quest reward?" Mumbling to herself Argo deduced the most likely situation. "But something like this would be well known at this point, wouldn't it?"

Chuckling, Naruto replied from behind hooded eyes. "It would, if the quest wasn't insanely difficult and tedious."

"SO, what you're really saying is that you put tremendous effort into our gift." Sachi began with an evil twinkle in her eye. "It would be awful if someone reciprocated such an act with the first item they found on the street."

"H-hey," Asuna protested weakly. "It's a good gift…"

"That's not gift wrapped…"

Hanging their heads, Asuna and Argo spent a moment wallowing in despair at their naivety. As if a last-minute search could ever match the dedication displayed in this gift.

"As for what I got you, here you are." Smiling happily, Sachi handed over a large box with a beautiful red ribbon on the top.

Snorting at the color, Naruto rolled his eyes at her. "Again? Even in SAO you managed to find one."

"I couldn't let the tradition die, now could I?" Sachi replied with a happy smile.

Laughing at the inside joke, the two shared a companionable smile. Ignoring the other girls confused glances, Naruto gently placed the ribbon to the side. Opening the box, Naruto removed a pair of black pajama pants.

"I know you find your current pajamas uncomfortable," Sachi explained. "So, I custom ordered a pair for you from some tailor named Ashley."

"Thanks a lot, Sachi!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm sure these will be great!"

"And uh, here is ours…" Materialising the boots, Asuna handed them to Naruto with shaky hands. "It's from both Argo and I…"

Taking the boots with an analyzing gaze, Naruto opened the boots spec sheet with a practiced hand. Eyes widening, Naruto's jaw went slack.

"Wow… This must have been very expensive."

"Eh?" Asuna asked surprised. "We got it for 10k, why?"

"H-how?" Naruto all but screamed. "These boots have three separate skill boosts! Three!"

"You didn't look at the boosts?" Argo asked wearily.

"No…" Asuna admitted abashed. "Just the armor and agility bonus."

"So, what does it give?" Sachi asked curiously.

"A bonus to hiding, sprint, and acrobatics."

Naruto's reply came out uneven and soft. Like he was still trying to process this event. Supple Dark elven Boots of Subterfuge: Super Rare. Just as he was thinking it was the one piece of equipment that was in urgent need of replacement, this dropped into his lap.

"Thank you two… I can't imagine the struggle you must have gone through to get these. Especially since I thought you two didn't know about giving gifts at Christmas."

Coughing loudly, Argo and Asuna shared a guilty look. Technically, they weren't lying to him. If Naruto chose to believe that they put a lot of effort into this… well then, whose fault was that?

Sighing quietly to herself, Sachi buried her jealousy. Her gift that had required a significant time and thought investment and been usurped by sheer dumb luck. Giving the other two a look that promised them they'd talk about it, Sachi turned back to Naruto.

"So, what did you want to do…"

Sachi's question was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It's uh… It's Silica. We heard you were celebrating Christmas today. We were wondering if you wanted to spend it together…"

"…"

Having no immediate response, Naruto simply looked at his girlfriends. It wasn't that he couldn't bring Silica and co along, it was that his plans were kind of… romantic.

"I'll leave this to you." Mouthing the words quietly to the three stricken girls, Naruto washed his hands of the matter. Christmas hadn't gone the way he'd intended from the start, it seemed like it was destined to drift even further.

"Oh, well we will be leaving then…" Silica said depressed. Voice thick at having received no reply, the young girl was hurt that her friends had denied her.

"No, wait Silica!" Asuna shouted through the door. Jumping up, Asuna ripped the door open to reveal Silica, Liten, and Lisbeth.

"Oh, thanks Asuna!" tears nowhere to be found, Silica gave Asuna a quick hug before running into the room.

Looking somewhat abashed, Liten and Lisbeth gave each other uneasy looks before bowing and following Silica into the room.

Wondering if she hadn't made a mistake, Asuna shakily closed the door. Facing the room, Asuna was horrified to see Silica pressed familiarly against Naruto's arm. Sitting right next to him, Silica kept her arm wrapped possessively around his, hugging it to her chest. Sending a hopeful glance to Argo and Sachi that they knew what to do resulted in only disappointment; the two girls looked as flabbergasted as Asuna felt. Thankfully, Lisbeth came to their rescue.

"Silica!" with a shocked gasp, the madly blushing blacksmith roughly dragged Silica away from a baffled Naruto.

"Eep!" Screeching at the rough treatment, Silica rose with a huff. "Liz! That was mean!"

"You're embarrassing us!" Lisbeth hissed back, eyes flickering between Silica and the other occupants of the room.

"No! I was just…" trailing off, Silica understood in a hurry what she'd just done.

"You were just…?" Liz teased with a sadistic gleam in her eyes.

"Eep!" Silica screamed yet again. Dashing behind Lisbeth, Silica cowered behind her friend. Laughing at the strange scene, tension eased in the room. Starting to relax, conversation gradually resumed in the room.

"So, you're dating all three of them?" Liten asked slightly later.

"Ah, yeah…" Naruto answered truthfully, still unused to saying something so outrageous.

"I see." Liten mumbled curiously.

Naruto internally sighed in relief. He knew he'd get a lot of anger directed at him, but from someone who he'd call a friend would be much worse.

"It must be nice to have someone…" Liten added on after Naruto didn't reply.

"Huh?" Naruto replied stupidly, "Can you uh repeat that?"

Flushing with embarrassment, Liten looked away. "I was just thinking how nice it must be to have someone special to you during this time. I don't think I appreciated how scared I was until I met Liz and Silica."

"Yes, I'm very blessed." Naruto agreed with a slight smile. "I suppose I could introduce you to a few guys if you're in the market."

"Oh, I think that's a great idea!" Asuna broke in, a smile plastered across her face. "There are so many other great guys in the frontlines, all ripe for the picking."

"I wasn't…"

"So true, Asuna!" Sachi agreed with a fervent nod, "and they'll all be desperate since there are so few women here!"

"I was just…"

"They're right you know," Argo added with a sagely nod. "Also, I can also do a background check if you're worried."

"Let me talk will you!" Liten eventually burst, SAO's emotion system turning her face comically scarlet. "You're making me sound like a desperate maiden entering my thirties with no marriage prospects!"

Smiles frozen, the three girls shared a brief guilty glance.

"I don't think that's what they were worried about," Lisbeth chuckled.

"Worried?" Silica asked confused. Looking back and forth between the various occupants, no one met the young girls stare.

Ignoring her, Liten plead her case. "I wasn't, I mean I wouldn't, I know how close you all are…"

"Ah, sorry," Sachi apologized quickly, casting a knowing glance at a passive Naruto, "It's a bad habit of mine I'm trying to break."

"Actually," Lisbeth broke in, "I wouldn't mind being introduced to the other front liners when you have time."

"What!?" Silica yelled. "You seem so independent Liz, I didn't think you'd be hunting for a boy."

"She's not," Argo murmured with a touch of awe in her voice, "she's hunting for clients."

"Ah, for your blacksmithing," Naruto murmured softly. "That should be no problem, the opening of the fourth floor would be a good day."

"So, you're planning on bringing a girl around and formally introducing her to the people that follow you?"

The thick irony in Sachi's voice caused Naruto to flinch. "A-As a professional acquaintance of course," Naruto stuttered nervously. "An asset for advancing our progress through the game."

"I know you didn't just refer to me as an asset," Lisbeth growled.

Surrounded by icy stares, Naruto fell back on his default strategy and sighed. Certainly not the Christmas he had planned, but fun, nonetheless.

* * *

"So, we're just going to pretend everything is the same?" Arthur's whispered question was barely audible above the background noise in the forest. On a rumor of event mobs, Arthur found himself tramping through the Northern forests with most of the rest of the regular party. The only absences were Naruto, the three girls, and Coper. The eleven-man squad worked in three parties to flush out their prey. It had taken over an hour before they located the first one. After locating it, it was twenty minutes of futile effort before a lucky blow had downed it.

The Christmas mobs resembled white hares with Santa hats. The difference was their eyes. The bloodred irises seemed to be possessed with madness. Furthering this demented theme was the red fluid dripping from their incisors. The changes made the cute creatures quite easy to strike down remorselessly.

Their careful strategy had been honed by hours of failure. Finally getting into the rhythm of the hunt, silence was key. The jittery mobs would flee at any noise. The worst part was, was that the drops were awful. The only somewhat interesting find were the occasional Mark of the Hare that caused Klein's crew to insiste on keeping up the hunt. They swore that something great would be at the end of it.

Stumping along, Arthur waited with the members of his team. Any second now… There! Right on cue, a pair of the creatures were scattered from the trees. Reacting quickly, Arthur split one with a quick Thrusting strike. Ducker cleaned up the second with a fast Fade Edge.

Pumping their fists, the group shared a quiet celebration. There was no point in talking and sending any more nearby away from them. Emerging from the direction of the rabbits came the other two groups. Seeing the victory, their faces lit up with the joy of success from a hard-won battle. Despite his pessimism, even Arthur had to admit that employing a difficult strategy and executing it was thrilling.

The celebration was cut short by a ding. Looking at his HUD, Arthur was surprised to find a quest notification. Go to the designated location and place the Mark of the Hares in a circle to summon their master. Looking around, Arthur noticed that everyone was reading that same notification. Examining the map, Arthur was pleased to see that the location of summoning was nearby to them. Sharing a brief smile with the group, they set off. It was starting to feel like a real adventure. A nagging feeling in the back of Arthur's mind had him wishing that Naruto was there though.

"So, this is the place yeah?"

Klein's carefree words shook the group.

"Why the hell are you talking?" Keita hissed back.

"It's over, yeah?" Klein answered easily. "The summoning isn't going to run away from us. The mobs don't matter anymore."

"Oh yeah." Blushing Keita looked away.

"Good point Klein. I'd forgotten we could talk." Laughing, Arthur was able to ease the pressure on Keita. "So, what do you think we do?"

"I think its that thing." Following Tetsuo's fingers, the rest of the party saw what he'd spotted. Ruins. In a clearing on the east side of the floor, a small pile of stone ruins sat. Their coordinates matched perfectly with the quest markers.

Entering warily, the party was ready for a fight. On edge, nothing moved in the worn stone fragments. Nothing was over knee height, allowing the group to get a good look of the roughly 90 foot circle. Right in the center, was a shape all of them were familiar with. A pentagram, that seemed to have been drawn in blood. Scribbled on the rock beside it, the group paused to read an ominous warning. _Don't do it. Only death lurks here. _

"Maybe we shouldn't…"

"Oh hush, where is your sense of adventure?" Klein scolded a reticent Tetsuo. "It's just to make it feel more lifelike. Now where are those Marks?"

Once they were materialized, everything started to come together. Five Marks. One for each corner of the star. Warily placing the final one, Arthur backed up and brought his spear to the ready. He was relieved to see everyone had done the same. Despite his tough words, so had Klein.

From each of the Marks, blood seemed to drift forward. The liquid encompassed the entire interior, turning it into a circle. From inside of it, words emanated in a high voice, "Oh, I warned you. Don't tell me I didn't warn you."

As soon as the words stopped, brilliant red light shone from the circle blinding them. When the light disappeared, the boys found their vision returning instantly. There was nothing left behind: no Marks, no pentagram, no warning. Only a single rabbit that hadn't been there before.

"What a load of shit!" Keita's exclamation was met with only agreement from the others. They had suffered all day on this quest and for what? One more useless quest mob?

Moving forward with anger, Keita went to make quick work of the rabbit. He got within 2 metres before Arthur noticed what was wrong, it didn't flee from their voices. "No wait!"

The words fell on deaf ears as Keita charged up his sword skill. The Thrusting Strike went off with remarkable speed but struck only air. Where the skewered rabbit should have been was empty.

"Argh!" Wheeling back, Keita feel to the ground with a shout. He was knocked down. Sitting on his chest observing the party was the rabbit.

Gazing fearfully at the rabbit, no one moved. As one the party tracked Keita's health as it dropped. Through the green, it entered yellow without slowing. Only when it turned red did it finally slow. Thankfully it stopped at 10%. Breathing a sigh of relief, the party resumed a shaky fighting position.

"Killer rabbit? What the hell is this garbage?"

"Killer rabbit?" Dale's words appeared to have struck a chord with Klein. "No, they wouldn't…" Face blanching, Klein began retreating.

"Where the hell you going!"

"Run!" Sheathing his weapon Klein began dragging his party mates with him out of the ruins.

"Don't leave me!" Shouting pitifully, Keita staggered to his feet and joined them in their, tactical repositioning, as they would later refer to it.

"Idiots." Emerging from the shadows, the cloaked figure barely glanced at the fleeing figures. Taking a throwing knife from beneath his cloak, the figure impaled the rabbit on it easily. The one hit from the thrown weapon was all that was required to bring it down. Glancing through the quest rewards brought a smile to the figures face. "It's showtime."

* * *

Sitting stiffly, Naruto's eyes warily tracked the girls' interactions. As the clock ticked past eleven at night, it was past time for bed. The rest of the floor still needed to be cleared among other obstacles. As the clock continued to tick later, Naruto's anxiety continued to build. He thought his face looked calm, but the back of his neck was drenched in a cold sweat. Perfectly justified nervous sweat, Naruto defended himself silently.

The cold smiles on his girlfriends' faces would have sent anyone running in terror. Anyone but Silica apparently. Whether she was drunk off the atmosphere of the day or the champagne at supper had some effect, she didn't appear to notice. Lisbeth and Liten appeared more like Naruto. Wanting to flee, yet unable to leave without Silica. The two of them kept exchanging glances, communicating silently.

"Hehe, so Naruto."

Due to a lack of chairs, everyone had elected to sit on the floor. As Silica spoke, she crawled towards Naruto. A drunken, predatory look in her eyes.

Forcing himself slightly backwards, Naruto was more than a little scared of Silica's behaviour. Perhaps even more terrifying were the other girls' expressions. Somehow, he got the feeling they blamed him more than Silica for this. "Uh, yes Silica?"

"I was just wondering… What's your favorite feature?"

The words were spoken with an innocence that rippled through the room. Worst of all, was the other girls' reactions. They wanted to hear the answer as well.

Continuing to slide backwards, Naruto's mind worked at a furious pace. Options kept coming to mind, but what could he say. It was unlikely there was a single answer that would make them all happy. Also, what was the truth? Biting his lip, Naruto felt the cold wood of the wall press into his back. He was out of time.

"H-hey now Silica. I'm not like that."

Mouth tightening into a thin line, Silica's frustration was mirrored by the others. Not that they would have asked something like this. Probably.

All of a sudden, Silica's eyes widened with sudden realization. Shortly following were tears. "You're only saying that because you don't like me!"

The shout caught the whole room off guard.

Waving his hands, Naruto frantically denied the claim. "Of course not! I like you; I do!"

"Really?"

Silica's wet eyes focused and clear. Naruto couldn't help but feel like he'd been trapped. Why was no one helping?

"Well then. What made you like me and the others?"

Now that was a loaded question. Breath hitching, Naruto felt his eyes wander to the other occupants. Gone was any appearance of nonchalance. All six girls were awaiting his answer. Swallowing, Naruto directed his gaze to the ceiling. Looking at them would only distract him. Leaning against the wall, Naruto felt himself disconnect. Going over his last two months in SAO, how did his choices lead to him sitting in a room on Christmas day with three girlfriends and three others of which at least one also liked him? It was mind boggling for such a short period of time. None of which was helping him survive the current scenario.

"Ah, but didn't I already tell you Silica?" The vague words spoken with a hint of a mischievous smile. What Silica was supposed to remember even Naruto didn't know. But it bought time to think while Silica struggled to recall.

Mouth opening and closing, Silica's eyes became unfocused. Digging through all of the memories of their day together, Silica's mind worked furiously to uncover some hidden trove of knowledge that didn't exist.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto deemed himself safe enough to work at the question again. Best feature, Silica had initially asked for. This had changed to what made Naruto like them first. Composing a fairly honest list in his mind, he realized all of them were different.

"You…" Silica's quiet words brought all attention to the girl. Looking at her, Naruto saw real tears fall from Silica's eyes. Her expression was heartbreaking. "You only like me because I remind you of your cousin."

Oh right. Eyes widening, Naruto's face blanched with sudden appreciation of his idiocy. His tone, the smile; no wonder Silica came to that conclusion. The other girls appeared frozen by this change in events, but it wasn't on them to fix this. Moving forward, Naruto wrapped Silica into a tight hug.

"That's not it, Silica." Placing his mouth against Silica's ear, Naruto whispered his words for her alone. "I like you for you. Not as a reminder, but because you brighten the room. Even in this game of death, you make people smile." The words were rushed, they were sloppy. Naruto doubted they were what Silica wanted to hear, but they were all Naruto had, the truth.

"Okay."

That was it. One small barely audible word. With it, the tension seemed to have left Silica's body. The shaking had stopped, leaving her small body pressed firmly against Naruto's.

"Well, I think that's been enough excitement for one day!" Declaring this with forced cheer, Lisbeth clapped her hands together once to punctuate her words. The sound echoed like thunder through the quiet room.

"Eep!" Silica yelped as Liz and Liten unceremoniously pried her out of Naruto's arms.

"Thanks for the hospitality, bye!" With that one last shouted line, the three girls disappeared behind the shut door.

"Umm, ok."

Argo's brief words succinctly summarized everyone's thoughts.

"Do all three of them really like Naruto?" Sachi's grumpy question seemed more exasperated than angry.

"I'm not sure." Asuna answered thoughtfully. "Silica definitely, but Liz and Liten are harder to read."

"Eh, I'd say Liz is crushing pretty hard," Argo denied, "she'll just never admit to it."

"Ugh, why did we agree to that one day?" Sachi moaned.

"We didn't really have a choice," Asuna muttered. Despite her words, she seemed no happier about it than Sachi. "Although I didn't expect Naruto to hit on them so much during the day."

Suddenly, Naruto was the spotlight of three glares. "W-what do you mean?" Looking around for support Sachi shook her head, Asuna rolled her eyes, and Argo snorted at him. Why was no one on his side?

"Did you not hear them talking during supper?" Argo pressed. "Most of their stories were all about how heroic and brave you were in _that_ dungeon."

Practically spitting the word, it was obvious that Argo's feelings about the dungeon ran deeper than the others.

"Seriously," Sachi agreed, "even shy Liten was speaking up about your heroism."

Frowning, Naruto took a moment to collect his thoughts. "I-I have no excuse. Everything just seemed to fall into place. Lisbeth needed copper, and it let me practice Martial Arts. I guess I didn't think about it from their perspective."

With a collective sigh, the anger seemed to leave all three girls at the same time.

"Why is it so hard to stay angry at you?" Asuna complained. "Even when I know other girls want you and you do nothing to deter them."

"Now you understand my life," Sachi laughed lightly, "though the two of you have coped with it far better than I ever did."

"We're only on the third floor though," Argo complained bitterly. "I don't know if I could cope with a girl a floor."

"More at this rate," Asuna corrected with a sigh.

Somehow it seemed, that everything was once again Naruto's fault. Like the fingers of a ghost creeping up his back, a strange premonition crept over Naruto. That he should tell them his last secret. About the girl not even Sachi knows. Hesitating briefly, the moment passed. There was no point in bringing up the wounds of the past. Especially when Naruto doubted, he'd ever see her again.

"I guess we should be going to bed then," Naruto broke into the conversation.

Glancing at each other, a silent agreement passed through the girls.

Blushing, Asuna resolutely met Naruto's gaze. "Would you like to sleep with me?"

Ducking her eyes behind her bangs, the youthful innocence combined with her mature curves created a wicked temptress. Mouth drying, Naruto wasn't sure what answer would come out. They'd rented this room so all four of them could sleep in here together. He'd have to go to another room with Asuna. They couldn't do that with Sachi and Argo in the room…

"Ugh, fix your words," Argo spat angrily, "Watching him drool over you is painful. And it's hurting my self-esteem."

Snapping his mouth closed, Naruto tried to check secretly for drool. Re-evaluating Asuna's words he finally understood. "You didn't mean umm, like…" Trying to articulate the thought, words died in Naruto's mouth. He may be good in social situations, but this went beyond his scope of experience.

"No! I didn't, not that I'm against it, but… uh…" Stuttering worse than Naruto had, Asuna finally picked up the direction Naruto's brain had gone. The result left both of them beet-red and incomprehensible. "I can just sleep with th-"

Cutting Asuna off with a finger on her lips, Naruto smiled at her. "I would be honored if you'd share my bed tonight.

Blinking slowly, Asuna nodded mutely. "I would like that."

Slowly the two of them made their way to one of the beds, chased by the laughter of Sachi and Argo.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey all,

Sorry for the long delay, but at long last the final chapter for part 2 is here.

Hopefully you enjoy it, and I'll meet you on the other side with an update on my plans for the future.

-asdf

* * *

Chapter 6

_Monday Dec 26__th__, 2022_

"90%? That's insane!"

"I know!" Klein emphasized. Telling the tale in wide sweeping motions, one would think that Klein had single-handedly saved the party from certain destruction.

"Are you alright?" Sachi's voice was filled with worry as she examined Keita. Finding nothing, Sachi seemed to relax a little. "You need to be more careful; you understand?"

With Sachi berating Keita on staying safe, the atmosphere imperceptibly lightened.

"It was strange though," Arthur agreed with a slight frown. "I almost feel like we were missing something crucial. Thinking back on it I realize that the boss didn't even have a health bar or a name."

"Was it even really a boss then?" Asuna murmured speculatively.

"Not going to weigh in on this?" Argo asks Naruto inquisitively.

Leaning his head on his hand, Naruto appeared bored with the whole situation. Sighing, Naruto spoke morosely. "I just wish I could have been there. Tested myself against this rabbit."

In reply Naruto got a triple glare from his girlfriends.

"Was yesterday not fun enough for you?" Asuna's quiet voice was delivered with an angelic smile.

Somehow, that beautiful smile caused far more fear than the words for poor Naruto.

"That's not what I…"

"Or maybe, what you're really saying is that you don't like spending time with us?" Argo added.

"Oh, lay off me," Naruto retaliated, "at least the rabbit wouldn't get mad at me for talking."

The angry words silenced the room and left an awkward aura over it. All the excitement of telling about the strange quest from yesterday was gone. Sharing glances with each other, the men in the room looked like they wanted to be anywhere but.

Opening their mouths to fire back, Asuna and Argo shared a quick glance and said nothing. This certainly wasn't the time to get into it.

"I thought we were going questing today?" Sachi asked hopefully.

"We are," Naruto confirmed. "Orlando is just coming quickly to talk about finalizing the guild acceptance."

As if Naruto's voice had called him, the inn door opened to admit the legend braves. The recently reformed eight-man party looked awkward standing in front of Naruto's sixteen. Waving them forward, Naruto gestured to the seat across the table.

Coughing, Orlando looked around the room awkwardly. "I thought it would be just you."

Tilting his head, Naruto looked confused. "I don't know what you mean."

Biting his lip, Orlando cast his gaze around the room once again. The rest of his party stood near the entrance with nervous expressions. Nezha, and Shivata merely looked disappointed with Orlando. "You know everything, don't you?" Orlando's low voice was barely audible, but it carried to the far corners of the tavern.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Naruto wore an innocent smile that betrayed nothing. This only served to increase Orlando's fear even more.

"I- I mean we, accept your proposal to join your guild."

The acquiescence from Orlando caused Naruto to loosen his stance. A microscopic adjustment, only a select few in the room were able to notice it.

"That's good news. I'll send out the invite. Furthermore, I'll designate you as a leader of a subdivision as previously agreed upon."

"Huh? But I thought…"

"That I'd break the agreed upon conditions? No, Orlando. I'm a man of my word." Turning his full gaze upon the Legend Braves leader, Orlando seemed to melt before Naruto. "Also, it may serve as a reminder of what I've provided for you before you think you would get better somewhere else."

With his face whiter than a sheet, Orlando practically fled from Naruto. For some reason Orlando was more terrified of Naruto than the floor bosses. Practically sprinting to the door, Orlando pushed his party out with him.

As the door slammed shut, every gaze landed on Naruto. "What the hell was that?" Klein's question represented everyone's feelings in the room.

Shrugging, Naruto leaned back in his chair. "Orlando brought his party to intimidate me into giving him more for joining the guild."

Snorting, Argo seemed somewhat dismissive of the explanation. "The boy may be a bit slow, but he isn't that stupid. There's no way he'd do something like that unprompted."

Nodding, Naruto agreed with a sigh. "Yes, unprompted he would never have conceived the idea. Someone seems to realize how amenable Orlando is to suggestion and is using it to their advantage."

Looking at each other, a new wave of determination seemed to pass through the three girls.

Sighing, Naruto couldn't help but feel having them here was a hasty decision. Now they would be even more eager to hunt down PoH. Standing up, Naruto faced the door, for now at least, it was time for the easy part: facing deadly monsters in combat.

* * *

Coughing awkwardly, Naruto shuffled his feet. Standing at the entrance to their inn room, Naruto was torn on what to do. The quests had been easy and took up just enough mental focus to prevent him on thinking about what to say. On the other hand, they left just enough that he'd been worried about this moment all day.

Part of him wanted to get on his knees and beg their forgiveness for his previous words. But he wasn't sure that was such a good idea. If even the suggestion of doing something else set them off so much, it was possible that further compliance would only make things worse. How long before they started demanding more time to be alone? While Naruto loved them with all his heart, he had more people counting on him than these three. Actually, everyone was counting on them as well. They were all members of the guild and had key roles to fulfill.

Scratching his head, Naruto observed the girls, hoping to get a clue from their behaviour. Oddly, they appeared to be in the same situation as Naruto, stuck on the fence as to what to do. The thought brought a smile to his face. Naruto had forgotten something important again. He'd thought of his girlfriends as something that he had to manage. That wasn't true though, their relationship wasn't something to manage, or dedicate a certain number of hours a week to. It was something that grew with them, a continual pact to ensure their love and support.

Sighing at his stupidity, Naruto walked quickly over to them. Focusing sharply on him, they opened their mouths to say something but hesitated. In the brief second, Naruto wrapped them in his arms. One giant, awkward hug between the four of them. "I'm sorry I blew up at you."

With her head buried against Naruto's neck, Asuna shook her head in denial, "don't apologize, we overreacted."

"Oh, I don't know Asuna," Argo denied teasingly, "he did choose a rabbit over us."

Chewing her lip, Sachi stared right into Naruto's eyes. "I think we are just worried that you are becoming addicted to fighting."

The clear words hit Naruto like a hammer. Suddenly, the conversation from earlier took a whole new spin. "I-I see…"

The weak trailed-off words caused looks of worry form his girlfriends. Casting each other nervous glances, they stared at Naruto's dazed expression. "Umm, you okay Nar-boi?"

As if the words had been a trigger, Naruto broke down into laughter. Tilting his head back, Naruto pulled the girls in tighter as peals of laughter rang around the room.

The girls were starting to wonder if Naruto had gone mad when his soft voice washed over them, "Not for a hundred rabbits would I abandon any of you."

"Hmm, but what about 200?"

"Well, let's not push it," Naruto replied jokingly to Sachi's probing question. "I'm glad we talked about it."

A general consensus of grunts indicated their agreement. Standing with his girlfriends held tightly against him, Naruto felt a sense of peace wash through him. No matter what happened, he'd always have them.

* * *

_Tuesday Dec 27__th__, 2022_

"We will now hear from Orlando, leader of the legend braves and expedition head on the Elf War questline."

Stepping back to light applause, Naruto cleared the stage and let Orlando take over spotlight of the meeting. Naruto had called a meeting of the front runners mainly to hear more about how the Elf War questline was going, whether it was worth it for others to pursue. The secondary goal was more nebulous, promoting the guild. Despite having signed a large number of the frontlines as members already, Naruto wasn't satisfied. In his mind he likened the efforts to clear the game as exactly that, a game. He would be the coach and the others would be his players. Split calls from another coach would lead to mistakes, and in SAO, mistakes were deadly. Attempting to cast the doubts from his mind, Naruto focused on Orlando's words to the group.

"Greetings fellow clearers," Orlando started, a faint quiver in his voice ruining an otherwise stoic front. "This past week, The Legend Braves have been working both sides of this elf war questline hoping to find advantages for us to ply when it comes time to fight the bosses."

"Not like Naruto didn't tell us this a couple of minutes ago," Kibaou complained to his party mates. Unfortunately, Kibaou never learned the art of whispering, causing the sound to carry to the ears of all gathered.

Flushing from the interruption, Orlando attempted to continue unabated. "Ah, yes, well moving on, we've started making great progress on the questline for this floor from both sides. According to beta knowledge we have three parts left which we should finish in a couple days."

"So, have you found anything helpful for clearing the game?"

"Um, well, no." Orlando answered honestly, "the experience is better than the average quest you can find on the floor, but rewards seem about equal."

"And you have confirmation on that? You could be lying to keep it all for yourself."

Sighing, as Joe's weedy voice threatened to destabilise the meeting, Naruto stepped forward to help out Orlando.

"I've seen the quest rewards and can confirm he speaks the truth, is that enough for you? If not, feel free to attempt the quest line yourself."

"I-I'm good," Joe mumbled abashed.

"Ah, yeah, well I guess that's all from me," Orlando spoke falteringly, the previous stoicism cracked from the multiple interruptions.

"Hold on, I have a question!" someone from the audience interjected before Orlando could escape the stage. "How hot are the elf girls?"

As the question was followed by a series of whoops and cheers from the audience, tension seemed to leave Orlando. Opening his mouth to reply, he was cut off by his party members.

"They're out of your league! And they're all ours!"

The general mayhem that ensued brought a dramatic and relatively happy end to the meeting. The only ones who didn't appear to enjoy it were the ladies in the assembly. Meeting their frosty eyes with a weak smile, Naruto could only shrug as the front lines waxed on about the beauty of elves.

* * *

_Wednesday Dec 28__th__, 2022_

"Not the pace you were hoping for?" Argo teased to a grumpy looking Naruto.

"Ah, no, its not that…" Naruto answered distractedly.

Having finished pacing the tenth floor of the labyrinth, everything was on pace for a New Year's Eve raid. Ending the year on the fourth floor would be satisfying even if the initial hopes would have been for higher. He truly couldn't ask for any more from those following him.

It was just one of those days. When life weighs on one's mind. Having gotten a break from planning and just being able to fight was a blessing Naruto had originally thought. But in the intervals between battles, his mind kept wandering to the future. He didn't know why it was affecting him so much today, but a fog of gloom seemed to hang over his actions. Ninety-seven more floors of this. Risking death every day, for not weeks or months, but years.

If he was being honest, Christmas had kind of killed his motivation. It had been a dream to spend the whole day laughing with friends. Even the occasional fighting would be fun. Spending the morning killing monsters for fun, with no stress of fear or death. However, neither of those things were possible. Instead, they climbed up the labyrinth in relative silence, unable to talk loudly for risk of drawing monsters.

Maybe that's what it is, Naruto thought dully. Rather than the perpetual threat of death, which had begun to numb, it was resentment over what could have been. To have a virtual paradise transformed into a deadly prison that wore on Naruto's mind.

"Huh?" Getting dragged out of his depressed thoughts, a large purple mushroom waddled its way into the corridor.

"What the…?" Klein expressed, echoing everyone's thoughts.

Focusing on the creature, Naruto brought up its icon to identify it. A 'Giant Purple Mushroom Man', its name identified it as. What really drew Naruto's attention, however, was the monster type indicator. It was something he'd never seen before, only heard of, a rare monster.

"The chances of this…" Voice giving out at the end, the awe in Argo's voice was evidence enough of how rare this encounter was. "I've never met one before."

"A monster Argo hasn't met before? Perish the thought," Naruto lightly teased.

"Shut up," Argo snapped, "be useful for once and kill it."

"Testy, testy," Naruto laughed lightly. Obeying Argo, he stepped towards the misshapen mushroom. With stumpy little legs, the wide mushroom man looked like it shouldn't even be able to move without falling over. Standing as tall as him, Naruto locked gazes with the bright purple creature. The humanesque face seemed like it was plastered on the stem and was twisted into a terrifying scream.

Releasing a sound that was less animal roar than primordial screech, the mushroom man bowed, pointing its cap towards Naruto.

"Not this shit again," Naruto groaned angrily. Dashing forward, Naruto rolled to the wall at the last possible second.

Unfortunately, the rare monster surpassed Naruto's expectations. What released from the cap was not a simple poison stream that Naruto had encountered previously; instead, a literal cloud of spores appeared that encased everything nearby.

Filled with the exhilaration of fighting an enemy with unknown potential, Naruto smiled fiercely while leaping backwards out of the cloud. With what could be considered top-of-the-line equipment for this floor, it was fair to say that Naruto was almost immune to most status ailments he could encounter. With just the briefest touch, however, the mushroom man's spores overcame his resistances.

Falling to one knee, Naruto gazed wide-eyed at his status. Not just stunned but poisoned as well. The ailments may only be level one, but the combination effect was fearsome. With limited ranged methods of attacking, it was hard to imagine an easy way to defeat this creature. Glancing up, Naruto waited for the creature to capitalise on the stun it had applied. To his surprise though, the creature was slowly retreating, reasserting the distance it had held prior to Naruto's approach.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto stood up uneasily as the last vestiges of the stun left his body. "Well this is annoying."

"True," Argo agreed with a frown, the only one to keep up with Naruto's processing on how this enemy fought. "As mush as I hate to say it, maybe we should leave it alone?"

"Eh!? Why?" Klein screeched while gesturing emphatically. "Just bait out the cloud and follow up with a sword skill, yeah?"

Sighing, Argo shook her head at the distraught swordsman. "Would you mind demonstrating Nar-boi?"

"Sure," the swordsman agreed with a chuckle. Pouncing at the mushroom, Naruto rapidly closed the distance. This time, however, Naruto was able to leave the radius of the cloud and avoided the stun. Despite that though, the cloud remained in the hallway blocking his access to the enemy. Once again when the toxic cloud dissipated, the mushroom man had re-established the gap between them.

"Damn," Sachi mumbled observing the strategy that could only be referred to as unfair, borderline cheating.

"What about flanking?" Asuna suggested, "or backing it into a corner?"

"Good thinking…" Argo complimented the chestnut-haired girl who'd started coming out of her shell recently. Asuna had left her hood down today as well, allowing her beauty to illuminate the dark tunnels of the labyrinth. If she was being honest, Argo was slightly intimidated by the moments of brilliance Asuna had shown at coming up with tactics. Even though her knowledge was still below average when it came to games, her raw intellect let her devise unique ways to deal with obstacles. Actually, it may be in part because of her previous lack of game knowledge that enabled her to come up with ideas uninhibited from what gamers would consider "common sense".

"If we push it straight down for another hallway it will enter a loop," Sachi informed the party after quickly checking her map.

"Alright then," Naruto agreed with a nod, "We'll follow Asuna's plan."

Pushing the Mushroom man back was long, boring work. After its fifth cloud, the group was fed up with hunting the annoying monster.

"I can't wait to bury my blade in this annoying bastard." Klein growled menacingly at the uncomprehending mushroom. Licking his lips with anticipation, Klein eyed the approaching junction where they would finally be able to trap the rare monster.

One more repeat and it was time. Leading his party with a mighty roar, Klein took off down the far tunnel to loop around the mushroom.

Smiling wryly, Naruto waited with his trusty Anneal Blade balanced on his shoulder. Standing half the distance to the mushroom, the monster seemed unnerved by its antagonists change in strategy.

Letting out an anxious wail, the monster changed its tactics for the first time. Scrunching in its cap, the mushroom unleashed a fine gold mist after a short delay.

Not letting the move go unpunished, Naruto dropped a Vertical Arc on the mushroom's head. Losing close to a quarter of its health, the mushroom defaulted to its tried and true strategy, the poison cloud.

"Tsk," Naruto snapped in irritation, using the time given, Naruto observed the new move. Already it was barely visible, looking at his HUD confirmed what he'd initially thought, no status ailment had been inflicted.

"I've never seen something like before," Argo confirmed before Naruto could ask. "It seems to be gone…"

Naruto spoke no disagreement but felt something was wrong. The mushroom had risked death to unleash those spores. There was no way they'd simply fade doing nothing. "Be alert, this thing may have surprises for us yet."

Smiling wryly at their leader and boyfriend's serious attitude, the girls glanced at each other. Bringing their weapons to bear, the party waited for Klein's party to provide an opening to kill the rare mushroom.

It was at that moment Klein did indeed burst out of behind the mushroom. Releasing its final poison cloud centered on itself, the mushroom waited for death. With weapons cocked, and ready to cut down the fungus, no one was watching the entrance.

Announcing their presence with a roar, a pair of Fallen Elf Duelists charged them.

"What!?" Quickly cancelling his sword skill stance, Naruto spun around and barely got his blade in the way of ones descending on him.

Naruto could see the fury in the Fallen Elves eyes and knew immediately his blade wouldn't be enough on its own.

Standing shocked as Naruto was knocked to the ground by a furious attack, everyone forgot about the giant mushroom.

"Kill it!" Screeching at his party from the ground Naruto fumbled desperately to block the next set of blows.

Thankfully, enough people kept their heads on that the mushroom's health was fully depleted. The delay, however, let it unleash another golden cloud.

"Hiyah!" intercepting the next round of attacks with a great shout, Asuna came to Naruto's rescue.

Diverting the blades to the side, Asuna primed her sword skill, expecting the combo to have finished.

"What?" with a confused shout almost identical to Naruto's from moments earlier, two swords crashed into her body and sent her flying.

"They've gone ballistic!" Argo howled with fear.

Rage. The only ailment in the game that couldn't be inflicted on players. A monster only condition, it prevents the use of sword skills. In exchange, the monsters are imparted with great strength. Swinging wildly, the elves had no need to stop their rampage.

"I'm coming!" jumping in front of the next barrage, Tetsuo was able to keep his feet.

"Despite the shock, we should be able to wrap this up pretty easily," Klein declared cockily.

As if in answer, an echoing howl reached their ears before another three monsters turned the corner, two more fallen and an Elder Treant.

"What the hell is going on!?"

Keita's confused scream helped to relax Naruto's mind. "It's an effect of the golden mist attack. Calm down and we'll be fine. If you drop into yellow back off."

Hearing their leader's calming voice did wonders to relieve the strained party. While enraged monsters could certainly be a hassle to deal with, there were more than enough of them to deal with these five.

Stepping forward, Naruto led by example and sent one of the Duelists flying with a well-timed Rage Spike. Following him, Sachi and Sasamaru teamed up to repel the other.

"Thanks for that," Tetsuo laughed nervously. "Wasn't sure how long I could hold out there."

"Focus!" Argo snapped at the group. Indeed, blowing back the two duelists had grouped them with the three fresh mobs. Now they would have to absorb the charge of all five monsters at the same time.

"Leave this to us!" Butting their way to the head of the column, Kunimittz and Dynamm crouched behind their shields and waited for contact.

With a loud Screech of metal on metal, two swords connected with each shield pushing them back. Taking advantage of the opening, the Treant swung its powerful arms into the already unbalanced defenders. Faces blanking, the boys had only a moment to reflect on their mistake before they went flying.

The different Treant varieties are the strongest monsters in the third-floor labyrinth. As a prelude to the boss of the third floor, Nerius the evil Treant, Treants are solo monsters. Prowling the floors with little regard to anything, Treants slaughtered anyone in their path with thick trunk-like arms. Standing taller than the players at a little over two meters, they used the height advantage to nullify sword skills and invalidate defense. On the flip side, it was almost impossible for Treants to block blows to their lower body. It was this, that Naruto used to turn the tables back in their favor.

Almost hugging the ground, the Horizontal Arc tore through the Elder Treant's feeler-like feet. The sheer athleticism of the maneuver was awe-inspiring. Convincing the game you had assumed the correct stance at that height was hard enough; doing it at a near sprint was ludicrous.

Roaring at the surprise attack, the Treant's charge was halted as it attempted to keep balance. After regaining its footing, the Treant searched for the one who had injured it. Casting its gaze at the floor, the AI ground to a halt in confusion; the swordsman was gone. Not even a second later, the Treant feel to its knees. The AI controlling it couldn't keep up, what had just happened to it?

Grinning at his advantage, Naruto trusted the Elves to his companions and pressed his advantage on the Treant. By keeping low to the ground, Naruto had been able to flank the giant Treant and further confuse the already enraged monster. Having laid it low with a quick Vertical across its back, Naruto prepared to finish it off.

If the Treant could see Naruto's face, it would have fled in terror at the sadistic grin plastered on the boy's face. Unfortunately, it was still trying to rise from the stumble debuff that had been applied when Naruto hit it last. Cueing up his new sword skill, Naruto unleashed death upon the monster. Sharp Nail, a sword skill unique to one-handed swords that hits three times. Carving right to left, the trajectory rapidly changed into an upwards diagonal, the beast's fate was all but sealed.

Turning his wrist to bring the cutting edge of the sword straight down, the blade endued with crimson light resembled a guillotine. Moments before the final strike could finish the 4 shaped sword skill, one of the fallen interrupted the final blow.

Hitting Naruto's arm with an inelegant strike, the Elf managed to save their monstrous comrade.

Rising from its spot on the floor, the Elder Treant bellowed its anger. Raising its arms high above its head, the Treant brought them down upon the dusty floor of the labyrinth. The shockwave produced sent everyone close to it down onto one knee. This included Naruto who was still frozen within his skill's post-motion. Staring fearfully at the downed boys on the front line, Naruto prayed for their survival.

Treants were known for their high strength stat. Inflicting it with the Rage status merely exacerbated the issue. A creature this powerful could easily deliver a fatal blow on a critical.

Eyes wide with fear, Naruto waited to see where the dice would fall.

"Like I'd let you," Argo snorted contemptuously.

Following Argo's lead, the three girls who had been standing far enough back to avoid being knocked down stepped forward. Like goddesses saving their devout followers, three sword skills lit up the gloomy passageway.

* * *

"You three left quite the impression," Naruto lightly teased.

"Oh, shut up," Sachi moaned.

Flopping onto a bed, the girl hid her face behind her hands. Having rushed into the fight to save the battle, the men in the party had all but worshiped them for the rest of the day. Finally, back in their room, they were freed from the uncomfortable praise that had been heaped upon them.

"Did you see Keita's face as he talked to you though?" Argo gushed unrepentantly, "he's in love."

"Please stop," Sachi whined amidst the others' giggles.

"But seriously, the three of you were very impressive out there," Naruto spoke softly.

Despite the words being barely audible, all three girls went scarlet.

"I was just trying to be worthy of staying in your party," Asuna answered honestly.

Placing his hand on her cheek, Naruto thumbed away the strand of hair obstructing her face. "I think that's my line."

Leaning forward, Naruto briefly touched his lips to Asuna's. Smiling at her, Naruto hid his conflicted feelings as he tried to gauge the feelings in the room. While he had genuinely wanted to kiss her, Naruto wondered how the other two would take it.

"Oh, so that's our reward is it?" Argo purred appreciatively.

"Huh?"

Confusion only lasting a second, Naruto's thoughts were wiped by the sensation of Argo's mouth colliding with his. Eyes widening, by the time he had adjusted to it, it was already over.

"Sac-chan, its your turn!"

"Eh! W-what are you doing, Argo?"

The protesting Sachi was being dragged forcefully to Naruto.

"If she doesn't a want kiss, don't force her," a surprisingly calm Asuna scolded Argo.

"Hmm, true." Argo agreed with an evil smile, "I guess Sach-chan just doesn't feel that way about Naruto."

"Wait! No, I…" Stuttering a highly embarrassed Sachi was unable to coherently string her thoughts together.

Chuckling, Naruto patted the crimson girl on the head. Smiling at the absurdity of it all, Naruto locked his lips with his third girl in as many minutes.

Going rigid with shock, Sachi didn't relax for the entire time Naruto was kissing her.

Burying her head in Naruto's chest, Sachi showed no signs of coming out in the foreseeable future.

"So, now that we've set the mood, what are we going to do?"

"I was thinking of going to sleep," Naruto replied stoically.

"Really?" Argo pouted, "maybe I'll just have to… wake you up…"

Stealthily wrapping herself around Naruto, Argo breathed her final words into Naruto's ear from behind.

"I don't know what you're talking about," body stiffening, Naruto fought to get his reply out.

"Hmm, pity. Guess I'll go drown my sorrows in the bath." Walking slowly to the bathroom on the far side, Argo put every bit of sensuality she could manage into her strut.

Mouth going dry, Naruto had to physically rip his gaze away from the swaying hips that threatened to ensnare him. With the room oddly silent, Naruto was keenly aware of every sound that came from the neighbouring room.

As Argo continued to make overenthusiastic sighs, Naruto didn't know what to do.

"If you want to join her, that's fine."

"Huh?" Looking down at the girl who had spoken the muffled words from his chest, Naruto was sure he'd misunderstood.

"She's willing to do things I'm not ready for yet. So, I'd understand if you, um, indulge."

"Sachi…"

Listening to Sachi's explanation, Naruto made no comment. Even Asuna's weak reply didn't stir him. Slowly but surely, Naruto's hand found its way to Sachi's cheek. Lifting her chin, Naruto took a moment to simply stare at his oldest friend.

"That's still bothering you, huh?"

Nodding, Sachi confirmed Naruto's worries. Like a dagger, the simple motion pierced Naruto's heart.

"I didn't realise…"

"Uh, if you need someone else to listen to you…" Asuna's halting words broke the strange tension in the room. "…I would be willing to lend my ear."

"Thank you, Asuna. And it's not your fault Naruto, it's mine."

"Still…" Naruto tried to insist, but words failed him. He didn't know how he should have been able to tell this. Sachi had seemed the same as always.

"Hehe," chuckling lightly at her boyfriend's conflicted emotions, Sachi reached a hand out to Asuna. "Would you like to hear it?"

"It would be my honor," Asuna replied honestly.

Forgetting about the bathroom, no one noticed the lack of noise emanating from it.

* * *

"T-those! Those pigs!" Asuna announced with shifting emotions as Sachi finished her story. Rage at the men, sadness and horror for Sachi.

"I've never told someone before," Sachi admitted. "We ran away from where it happened and never heard from the police."

"True," Naruto admitted in a whisper, "My parents were gone when I got home, and I never brought it up afterwards. Didn't know how."

"When I close my eyes, sometimes I still feel their hands on me." Sachi continued, baring her deepest secrets to the girl.

"You're always scared touching Naruto will you remind you of it, aren't you?" Asuna murmured sympathetically.

Nodding tearfully, Sachi buried herself in the older girl's chest. "He- he's my hero! I don't want to be scared of him."

Sitting there stunned, Naruto locked eyes with Asuna over Sachi's head. But what could he possibly say in this situation? Hand poised halfway to Sachi's shoulder; Naruto was at a loss.

"I can't imagine being touched like that," Asuna consoled Sachi, "but why do you think Naruto would invoke those same feelings? As long as you want him to ah… you know… then there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I thought so too," Sachi agreed dully. Casting a brief look at Naruto's stricken stance, she kept talking. "Before we met you, Naruto and I were uh… and when he initiated, I got flashbacks. Its not his fault, but I want him and yet don't all at the same time. I'm a failure of a girlfriend."

Chuckling, Asuna lightly smacked Sachi's head.

"W-what was that for!" Sachi demanded indignantly.

"For not telling us earlier," Asuna admonished, "but mostly, it's for not trusting Naruto. He didn't just save you, he saved me as well. No matter what you're dealing with, I'm certain he'll go to any length necessary to help you, if you tell him."

"I'm sitting right here," Naruto reminded them uneasily.

"Oh, I know," Asuna assured him with an angelic smile.

"Just making sure…" Naruto grumped.

"Well?" Asuna prompted.

Finally facing him, Sachi opened her mouth, "Naruto, I…"

"Shh," stopping her words with a finger, Naruto smiled at her. "You've said enough Sachi. I'm a bit of an idiot at times though, so if you have something to say, say it. Remember, I love you regardless. I'm not going to use the other girls as a replacement for you, alright?"

Nodding silently yet again, Sachi finally smiled. Naruto thought her tear-stricken face, filled with joy and trust was maybe the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

* * *

Getting out of the bath, Argo made her way to the living room on silent feet. She'd worn a swimsuit during her bath on the assumption that Naruto would at least sneak a peek; however, Sachi had far surpassed her expectations. Wiping her face, Argo looked at the mirror one last time to ensure no tears were on her face.

She'd heard every word. Every damned word out of Sachi's mouth. Getting stopped by older boys on the way home. Getting dragged into the alleyway and forced against the wall. How Naruto had saved her.

Argo's life was a series of similar events with one difference, Argo had no hero. There was no light at the end of her tunnel, until now. She knew it was wrong, she knew that Naruto deserved better than her, but still… Naruto kept her around. So, she continued to cling to him, offering him everything she has in the hope that maybe, he really does want her.

Re-entering the room, Argo smirked at their confused expressions. They'd forgotten about her. While the realisation hurt, it didn't change the words she needed to say.

"I'm sorry Sachi."

"Argo?" The girl replied questioningly.

"I flung myself at Naruto with no concern for your feelings, and I'm sorry."

"Oh, you uh heard our conversation…" Trailing off Sachi scratched her head, a habit she'd picked up from Naruto. "To be honest, I'm glad you did, it would be annoying to have to repeat it after you'd finished your bath."

"Huh?" Argo replied unbelievingly, "but why aren't you mad at me? Or gloating?"

"Hehe," Sachi giggled at Argo's baffled face, "well, I guess it's because we're a harem, aren't we? We help each other with our problems."

"Yeah, I suppose we are," Argo agreed wistfully. "Now, come here you!" Leaping on Sachi, Argo tackled the poor girl in a hug.

"Hey, break it up you two!" Asuna scolded. Walking over to forcefully separate them, Asuna could only yelp before being dragged into it as well.

Panting heavily after the excitement died down, Sachi cast a quick glance at Argo who was laying beside her. Making sure Naruto wasn't in range, Sachi whispered in Argo's ear.

"To answer the other part, I really don't mind. In fact, … I wouldn't mind watching."

"Eh?" letting out a startled gasp, Argo's red gaping face found no answer.

"Did something happen Argo?" Naruto asked concerned.

"N-no, nothing."

Trying to calm her raging emotions, Argo cast one more probing glance at what seemed to be the sleeping profile of a peaceful Sachi before attempting to find sleep herself.

* * *

_Saturday, Dec 31__st__, 2022_

Lifting its head to the sky, Nerius the Evil Treant unleashed an enraged howl. With four of its five health bars drained, Nerius had put up less of a fight than any of the previous floor bosses. Part of that may have been an increase in experience among the raid group, but most of it, Naruto felt, was due to the lack of weapon from the floor boss.

Illfang had a axe and no-dachi, Asterius and co had hammers, but Nerius had nothing. While the Treant's massive fists did ludicrous damage when they connected, that event was rare. In exchange, Nerius relied on other methods; primarily copious amounts of adds, and poison attacks.

Spawning multiple Elder Treants every time a health bar emptied, the raid group was forced to prioritize killing them or risk being overrun. In addition, Nerius possessed not only a poison breath, but an ultimate attack similar to the Mushroom man. Unleashing a ring of poison gas, it enveloped the entire room and inflicted a tier two poison debuff on all present without fail. This attack which was unleashed every five minutes would have wiped the raid group without proper preparation.

Thanks to the legend braves, who had finished the elf war questline the day before, they were prepared for this. Beware the poison attacks, that was what both leaders had said. Despite how Argo mumbled about stupid Kayaba changing bosses, they had done their due diligence in prepping.

With his guild forming the majority of the raid party, Naruto had said that they would buy the antidotes for everyone. That decision may have been a little… rash. The cost for the hundreds of tier two antidotes required to nullify Nerius' ultimate attack had been exorbitant. In a way though, it was their duty. They were the ones leading everyone through the game. It would be a small price to pay in the grand scope of things if it established them as the rightful leaders.

"Here it comes!" Naruto cried to the raid group. Five minutes were up. So, like clockwork, Nerius raised his arms to the sky and unleashed his great ring of poison.

Letting it wash over him like a stiff breeze, Naruto barely even glanced at his HUD before downing an antidote. A four-minute level two poison, it truly would be terrifying with no advanced knowledge. Proccing twice as fast as level one poison, without an antidote, the entire duration would deal about 160% of a player's health. With only a minute of downtime before another attack, the chances of becoming permanently poisoned were frighteningly high.

This made the raid highly dependant on antidotes which halved both the remaining duration and damage dealt. If the antidote used was below the poison level it would have half the effect for each level below; conversely, for each level above, the antidote would be twice as effective.

"We're out over here!"

"Same!"

Wincing as Orlando and Kibaou informed them of their predicament, Naruto sighed. Glancing around the room, two of the Elder Treants were still alive from the final spawn and Nerius had barely entered his final bar. Clicking his tongue, Naruto was still debating options when…

"We should have it, yeah?"

"Definitely in kill range."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?"

First Sachi, then Argo and Asuna came in and made the decision for him.

"I'm becoming a damn figurehead at this rate," Naruto joked. Clearing his throat, Naruto announced the decision to the raid. "Parties A and B, on Nerius. Everyone else, finish the Treants and heal."

Leading his party forward, Naruto handily dodged the exaggerated overhead swing. Taking a moment to ensure he wasn't staggered by the shockwaves, Naruto kicked off the ground and delivered a quick Vertical Arc.

Backing off, Naruto made room for Tetsuo to come in and draw aggro with a Howl. Skirting around the edges, Naruto took advantage of Nerius' vertical attack pattern to sneak in extra sword skills whenever the opportunity presented itself.

As the minutes slowly trickled by, Naruto kept an eye on time. Two, three… just before the fourth minute Nerius hit 20% on his last bar. The timing would be tight, but he should die right before he got another ultimate attack off.

Roaring its displeasure at having been reduced to its last section of health, Nerius unleashed its final attack. It wasn't a powerful move with the potential of one-shoting someone, like Illfang, nor was it a powerful AOE crowd control attack like Asterius had. Instead, Nerius' final move was more subtle, and in a way, more dangerous.

Using one of its weaker attacks, Nerius forced Tetsuo who was tanking to absorb the blow. While Tetsuo was still off-balance from the first strike, the boss unleashed it. Not from an appendage, or the predictable breath attack, Nerius sent feelers out from its feet.

The vine-like projections wrapped themselves around Tetsuo's feet.

"Uh oh…"

Face blanking, Tetsuo only got those words out before being lifted upside down into the air. Suspending the flailing Tetsuo in front of itself, Nerius was able to effectively halt all attempts to hit it.

"Nezha!"

Adjusting quickly to the sudden change, Naruto called on the only long-range weapon user in the raid to save Tetsuo.

The gleaming arc of the chakram's trajectory lit up the dim cavern in which they fought. Like a speeding bullet the rusty gold chakram homed in on the tendrils wrapped firmly around Tetsuo's legs.

Holding their breath, the raid waited to see whether the weapon would nullify Nerius' final ploy.

Jerking back, Nerius attempted to avoid the speeding weapon. The chakram sailed past the first vine but managed to catch the second one. With one of the vines cut, Tetsuo yelped as he swung loosely from just the one restraint.

"Hehe, let me help you out Nar-boi." Winking as she flew by, Argo put her incredible dexterity on display to scale the body of the floor boss. Leaping from the ground, off its knee, Argo cast a sword skill in mid-air, Vaulting Strike.

With three quick blows Argo shredded through the final tendril and released the hostage.

"Huh?" mumbling with confusion, Tetsuo had no time to prepare before being dropped in a heap.

Smiling briefly at the comedic act, Naruto turned his attention back to Nerius. Pointing his blade at the severely wounded floor boss, Naruto called for the final charge.

"Kill it!" Voice cracking slightly under strain, Naruto watched the seconds tick desperately by towards the five-minute mark. Not like the attack would kill them, more like it would be an inconvenience to doll out even more antidotes.

Caught in post-motion delay, Naruto had been clipped by the edge of one of Nerius' attacks. It was a foolish mistake that never should have happened, but the result was that Naruto was unable to deliver the blow to finish off Nerius.

Gritting his teeth at failing to stop this poison wave, yet again Naruto's problem was solved for him.

""Yargh!""

With twin shouts, Asuna and Sachi impaled the Treant with their rapier and spear respectively.

Lifting its arms up to release its attack, Nerius' large frame froze. As Asuna and Sachi's damage finally registered, its health bar emptied. Finally, drained, the third-floor boss exploded into millions of polygons.

"Nice!" Arthur exclaimed, patting Naruto on the back. "Though you kind of got upstaged…"

"So, it would seem," Naruto answered wryly. Standing up he joined in on cheering the three women who had won the day.

After the excitement settled down, Naruto found himself dragged up the stairs wedged between Sachi and Asuna. Argo led the entire raid up with a hop in her step.

"The three of you were pretty great out there," Naruto congratulated them.

"Yeah, unlike some people we were on point today." Argo teased.

"Hey, don't make fun of Tetsuo like that," Naruto fired back immediately.

Laughing the four of them enjoyed the sweet taste of victory as they finished the ascent of the stairs. Still smiling, Argo paused with her hands on the double doors.

"Huh?"

Standing still, Argo made no move to open them or move aside.

The whole raid party ground to an uncomfortable stop. With hushed whispers sent up the line, everyone was wondering what the holdup was.

"What the hell happened…" With only this mumbled wondering, Argo threw open the doors and dashed onto the fourth floor.

Following her nervously, the raid group was greeted by a sight that had been rare since starting the game, water. With the exception of the swamp on the first floor and minor creeks, SAO had an astounding lack of water. One of the reasons being, its next to impossible to fight in water.

Glancing at Argo's pale face, Naruto assumed that held true in SAO as well.

"Well, now what?" Saying what the entire raid was thinking, Ducker's words washed over Naruto like a cold shower.

The turn of events was simply too unexpected to predict. How could he expect to need a skill that had literally never come up before?

"Argo, you know this game better than anyone. Can we swim to the main town?"

"No. It's not like swimming in real life… And if there's a monster…"

Clicking his tongue in frustration, Naruto surveyed the island they'd been given. Besides the staircase, the only notable feature was a large tree with odd fruit.

"Does the tree do something?" Naruto asked, desperately grasping at straws. If they didn't find a way to the main town, it would be a defeated walk back to the third floor and wait for the teleport gate to open automatically.

"It…" stalling for a moment, Argo tilted he head quizzically. "It wasn't there in the beta."

"That's probably the solution then," Asuna declared reluctantly. It seemed like she was unhappy about something, but Naruto wasn't sure what.

"Yeah, it probably is," Sachi agreed with the same despondent tone.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto whispered quietly to them. When they didn't immediately respond, Naruto ran out of time and advanced towards the tree.

Instead of trying to reach one of the fruits, Naruto punched it with a Flashing Blow. Rattling the tree mightily, several of the tree's fruits fell. Catching one, Naruto examined it. It seemed normal enough at first glance, but looking more closely, something was wrong with the stem.

"It's hollow?" Whispering to himself, Naruto brought the stem to his mouth. Hesitating briefly on the off chance of looking like an idiot, Naruto blew. Encountering slight resistance, the 'donut' started expanding. After several seconds it stopped at a size that was familiar to all watching. An inner tube.

Walking to the edge of the water, it finally dawned on Naruto what the girls were hesitating about. Hiding his embarrassment, Naruto disrobed before the entire raid group. Bracing against the snickers, Naruto stepped into the chilled water and tested the tube. Sighing with success, Naruto was pleasantly surprised that floating was so easy.

"Well?"

The scorching question woke up the raid group that had been lounging around unconcerned. Flushing the group got around to collecting inner tubes and blowing them up.

Sneaking away from the tree, Argo handed inner tubes to the other girls.

"Let's go before they're ready," Argo hissed.

Nodding their agreement, the girls dove into the water and didn't start unequipping before they were well away from shore.

Rolling his eyes at their childness, Naruto felt he understood a little. If even he hadn't wanted to get in the water in front of everyone's prying eyes, he could only imagine how it would feel as a woman vastly outnumbered by men.

Waiting for the rest of the raid who seemed to be dismayed at the absence of the women, Naruto led the huge flotilla to the town of Rovia.

* * *

"That's it," Argo coached, "just let the water carry you along."

"Thanks Sensei," Sachi laughed. With her arm tightly gripped around Argo's tube, she knew Asuna was in a similar position on the other side.

"Do you think maybe we should have waited for them?" Asuna asked, voice tight from strain.

"Nah," Argo replied easily, the only one comfortable in the water. "While it would have been fun with just Naruto, I don't want all those eyes on me."

Shivering, the girls nodded their agreement. Sachi especially was having troubles removing the memory of men leering at her; stripping her with their eyes.

"Still," Asuna complained, "As sub-commander I can't routinely abandon Naruto to deal with stuff on his own."

"Hey girl, you already get more attention than me. I'm not giving any commands."

Chuckling, the three girls floated down the river in peace.

Breaking the silence after a couple minutes, Sachi smiled at the girls. "This is nice, isn't it? Just the three of us spending some quality time together."

"It really is," Asuna agreed, letting her long chestnut hair flow on the surface behind. Stretching her legs out, Asuna looked into the azure sky. The stone roof framed between the steep canyon walls made a picturesque view.

"So, maybe we should talk," Argo started awkwardly.

"About what?" Sachi's voice was framed with exhaustion from the long day.

"Tonight," Argo murmured awkwardly.

"New Year's Eve?" Asuna questioned. "Is it about the party?"

"After that." Argo bit out. "I can't believe you two haven't thought about it."

"Can't you just tell us Argo?" Sachi complained.

"Please do," Asuna agreed, with hooded eyes.

"Fine. I mean the New Year's kiss! Who gets it?"

"That's going to have to wait!" Sachi yelped, "Enemy!"

"Huh!?" flipping their heads, Asuna and Argo watched with horror at the giant fin that was slowly slicing its way towards them.

"Swim!" Roaring her command, Argo led the three frantic girls towards the distant shore.

"We aren't going to make it!" Sachi complained as the fin rapidly closed the distance.

"Go!" Argo commanded, "I'll hold it off."

"Don't talk crazy," Asuna shot back. "We can't fight it without a weapon!"

"I have mine though." With a nasty smile plastered to her face, Argo turned around and unleashed a quick two-part sword skill at the fish which had closed the gap.

Leaping out of the water, the disappointingly small fish was easily repelled by Argo's claws.

Fear fading the girls let the current carry them to shore in a state of disbelief.

"That was…"

"Interesting?" Asuna finished for Sachi.

"I can't believe I wasted my cool moment on that," Argo complained. "I was going to be the hero that repelled some great shark monster!"

At Argo's senseless complaining the girls stored their inner tubes and put clothes on. Relaxing on the shore they waited for the rest of the raid to find them.

* * *

After arriving in Rovia, the Raid group had walked around dazed at the water-filled town. Reminiscent of Venice, the quaint city was breathtaking. Unfortunately, the novelty quickly wore off and inconvenience set in. Every journey from the gondoliers was, regardless of length, 30 cor. While the cost was fairly low per ride, it was easy to see how prolonged time in the city would lead to a sharp increase in cost. Especially for those players who didn't adventure, staying in this city would be untenable.

Standing in the teleport plaza, Naruto and the raid group performed their customary duty of greeting the other players. Captured by the beauty of the city, many of the players ran off to enjoy a gondola ride and see the sights. This was coupled with an actual size restriction on the plaza which prevented thousands of people from staying there.

Sighing, Naruto could only observe as people fought for a spot on the gondolas to avoid the cramped square.

"Is this really the best place to have a party?" Arthur asked concerned.

"No," Naruto had to admit. "I think we'll relocate back to Zumfut."

"I'll spread the word," Arthur accepted. Nodding his head, Arthur left to tell the other party leaders and people who had helped organize the New Year's Eve celebration.

Turning around, Naruto smiled at his girlfriends. "So, do you want to explore Rovia first, or head back down?"

"As much as I love the gondolas…" Asuna trailed off with a light blush.

The reason for her pause was obvious. The lines for the gondola's were long and showed no sign of slowing down.

"Yeah, there's always tomorrow," Sachi agreed.

"Back to Zumfut then?" Naruto inquired.

"Yes, Nar-boi. Thought that was obvious." Argo teased.

Rolling his eyes at the irascible girl, Naruto led them to the teleport gate and back unto the third floor.

* * *

"Naruto! Great to see you! You fought well today!" The excited, shouted lines were slightly slurred. Wearing a goofy smile, Kibaou looked like a standard drunk.

Naruto could sense Lisbeth's revulsion as she shrank back. How Kibaou was managing to appear perfectly drunk when alcohol doesn't work, Naruto didn't know. One thing he did know, was that a happy looking Kibaou was very odd indeed.

True to his promise on Christmas, Naruto was taking Lisbeth around to meet the front liners. At this point, both Naruto and Lisbeth were waiting for it to end. Every conversation was a repeat of the last. All the front liners told "jokes" about how Naruto was cheating on the three girlfriends he already had, and that Lisbeth should watch out because she'll be next to fall under his powers of seduction.

"Eh? You caught yourself a new girl already have you?"

Sighing in unison with Lisbeth, Naruto prepared himself to relive the same awkward conversations.

"Actually, Lisbeth is a blacksmithing acquaintance. I'm introducing her to the front liners as a reliable and skilled source of weapons, repairs, and upgrades."

Hearing this information, the goofy expression slid off Kibaou's face and was quickly replaced with an appraising one. "You have her under contract for the guild I assume?"

"What? Uh no."

"No!? Blacksmiths are important resources!" Kibaou's shocked voice came loud and fast, buffeting Naruto under its force. "The more of the trades you soak up, the more people will be forced to join your guild in order to get good equipment and level easily. It will make us unstoppable!"

So much of what Kibaou had just said were mirrors of Naruto's words. But they were all wrong at the same time. They preached the same goals but had perverted the method. Lisbeth too had a deep scowl on her face. She was about to blow up at Kibaou. Placing his hand on Lisbeth's, Naruto knew he was only confirming the rumors about them. Squeezing it gently, Naruto conveyed his feelings through the contact.

Snapping her head up, Lisbeth turned the full force of her glare onto Naruto. The rage and disgust in her eyes threatened to overwhelm Naruto. Without opening his mouth, Naruto plead with his eyes to let him deal with this. Eyes locked, the moment seemed to last an eternity. Acquiescing, Lisbeth squeezed Naruto's hand once. An affirmation of her faith in him that he'd deal with this. "Excuse me, I'm going to get a drink."

With Lisbeth gone, Naruto turned his vision to Kibaou. The man had returned to an inebriated appearance in the time Naruto had been communicating with Lisbeth. Taking another second, Naruto composed his words and expression. The sad fact was that Naruto needed Kibaou. No matter how many faults he had, Kibaou was invaluable to Naruto. Not only had he brought multiple players back into the boss raid, he was Naruto's biggest supporter. This was why Naruto had to make Kibaou leader of the front lines within the guild. A decision it seems Naruto may come to regret.

"You alright? Is your new girl mad at you?"

Even Kibaou can figure something out eventually, Naruto thought condescendingly. Simply staring at Kibaou, Naruto didn't answer right away.

Slowly, the drunkenness faded a bit. "Are you… mad at me?" The words were spoken with the disbelief that only one convinced of their position could obtain.

"Not mad Kibaou, just disappointed." The cliché tasted bitter on Naruto's tongue, but it did the trick.

Reeling back in shock, Kibaou appeared to struggle to remember something he'd done wrong.

Not giving him a chance, Naruto continued, "you understand what I'm trying to do, but you don't know why. I want to unite people, not force them into a dictatorship."

Frowning, Kibaou actually took a moment to process Naruto's words. "You sound a lot like Diavel, you know?" The quiet words were underlaid with a strong passion. "But, like him, you aren't a realist. At the end of it all, do you really think there'll be a difference? If the entire frontline is one guild how exactly would one from the middle players rise up to join the front runners? They couldn't without joining us. Either way will create enemies, but mine will ensure they have no method of resisting."

Shocked, Naruto was at a loss of words. The argument was well thought out in a distinctly non-Kibaou way. The future Kibaou painted was definitely a possibility, but it wasn't certain. Furthermore, there was an error in Kibaou's argument. Sensing the trap, Naruto pressed Kibaou. "You didn't come up with this on your own, did you?"

Seemingly confused, Kibaou strained his memory for how he formulated the idea. "I guess… It all really started when I heard Joe complaining about the second-tier players accosting him for something. After that, some guy talked to me about how he doesn't really trust the middle-leveled players. How they only level for personal gain. And honestly, he's right. If they were dedicated, they would have joined us on the frontier by now. They only level so that they can wield power over others."

Naruto was sure that Kibaou's description did indeed include some of those players. However, as someone who knew one of those parties desperately trying to catch up, Naruto knew it fell short of a full picture. So, this was Kibaou's solution. By mopping the best tradesmen into the guild, Naruto could then control how far players could get into the game and eventually rehabilitate the mid-level players into the guild as trustworthy front liners. Taken out of context, the idea had merit. One aspect felt off though, Joe. The man seemed to keep popping up. By itself, his presence complaining here would mean nothing. But it just so happened to be perfectly timed that a stranger could overhear and give just detailed advice?

Chewing his lip, Naruto felt the weight of an invisible darkness close in around him. Despite standing in a open area he was having trouble breathing. It was too much for him. Was this a nefarious plot, organized to split Kibaou's loyalty form him? Was this nothing more than a misunderstanding? As possibilities whirled around in his head, all Naruto could hear was low chuckling from the hooded man he'd fought, PoH. Clenching his hand, Naruto dug his fingernails into his palm and wished for pain. Something that would ground him and let him focus. More foes were the last thing he needed right now.

"Thank you for telling me Kibaou. I made you leader of the front lines because I trust you. If you find someone you think should be in the guild, recommend them to Argo. She's in charge of recruiting and will deal with it. Finally, we'll talk more on this later, in the meantime I'll look into these claims and see how bad it is."

Grinning from ear-to-ear, Kibaou's previous good mood was restored. "Should have known I could count on you. Next time I got something on my mind, I'll come straight to you with it!"

"Please do." Was all Naruto got out before Kibaou had sauntered away to talk to others. Standing alone in the middle of the road, Naruto stared west at where the setting sun was hidden behind the massive trees of Zumfut. The ruddy orange light was slowly giving way to the night. In the encroaching twilight, Naruto felt truly alone, and far too young for the role he'd been cast.

* * *

"Is… Is something wrong?" Naruto asked nervously. "It's almost midnight you know?"

"Oh, we know," Sachi agreed instantly.

For the past hour, the tension between the three girls, who had been getting on so well, had continued to grow. Now, five minutes from midnight, there seemed to be some sort of stand-off going on.

"H-hey guys, so, you fought well today…"

"Thanks."

The quick response echoed three times through Naruto's ears but did nothing to relieve his stress. Mustering his courage, Naruto tried one last time to alleviate the situation.

"Well, since we're getting low, why don't I go grab some more food?"

"NO!"

Finally getting a real response, Naruto was blown back by the force of the combined shout.

"Umm, why not?"

"You have to stay here!" Argo growled with a fierce point at the ground.

"Uh… okay?" Looking questioningly between them, Naruto was shocked to find that they had already shifted their attention away. It was on each other again.

Like a wave, Naruto's fear shifted to anger. Fine, if they want to waste New Year's Eve having a stare-down that's up to them. Turning around, Naruto disappeared into the shadows like a wraith.

Grumping, Naruto hid in the shadows just off main way, alone again. Whether he was an idiot for not being able to figure out what was going on, or they were for just not telling him, Naruto couldn't figure out. What Naruto did know, was that he felt like shit. After Kibaou had wandered off, Naruto received a message from Lisbeth thanking him for his time, but she had had enough for one day. After that, Naruto tracked down his girlfriends who were looking through the impromptu shops set up for the festival. Shortly after finding them, they brought Naruto up to the treetop. Once there though, it seemed like something else was occupying their thoughts. So now, Naruto found himself alone again pondering their behaviour.

For some reason, the fact that midnight was approaching seemed significant. Was it because that meant the New Year officially started? No. Discounting the idea with a shake of his head, Naruto tried to remember what happens at midnight. First, there's a countdown. Starting from ten, everyone counts backwards towards zero. Then you yell 'Happy New Year!' and cheer. Feeling like he had struck gold, Naruto had just found the information he needed when she crossed his view and all of his thoughts dispersed.

Rubbing his eyes, Naruto confirmed it really was her. Breaths coming hard, Naruto felt the cold grip of icy fear encase his heart. The only time he'd felt something similar was when he first saw Sachi in that first-floor inn. The horror of knowing someone you care about is trapped inside a death game.

"Hiyori…"

Naruto didn't know if the breathless whisper had reached her, or she had felt his gaze, but she turned towards him, flipping her blond hair all the while.

"Kazuto…"

The faint whisper reached Naruto and enslaved his senses. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. Her silver irises reflected the torch light like mirrors. It was this fact that grounded him and brought him back to the present. In comparison to her real brown eyes, one may say these were far prettier. However, the difference was something Naruto could focus on to clear his mind. Slowly but surely, the gears in Naruto's mind started turning again.

Hiyori Kashiwazaka went to the same middle school as Kazuto last year. Being a year older than him, Hiyori had graduated and went on to high school. If Arthur was his Kendo friend, then Hiyori could be classified as his baseball friend. The obvious difference was that Hiyori played for the girl's softball team. Being quite a large school, it boasted two baseball diamonds that both the girl's and boy's teams utilised to practice at the same time.

Maybe it was the fact they both pitched. Maybe it was Hiyori's sense of humor that led her to pick on the younger boy. Whatever it was, the two of them had an interesting relationship. Based on teasing and competition, the two of them were in a perpetual game.

There had been no rumors about them in school. Not even Sachi had identified her as a threat. Most of this was because, for the entire school day, they didn't even acknowledge the other's existence. Walking right by each other at school without even a glance, one would assume they were strangers.

After practice though, they always found themselves in the same café. Sitting side-by-side, the pair resembled a couple who were past the initial stages and were satisfied by simply sitting together. It was there Hiyori had proposed a rule. Once a week they could ask each other one question, and they had to answer truthfully.

It was because of this that Hiyori knew more about Kazuto than perhaps anyone else. Just when Kazuto felt maybe they were destined to be together, everything changed. Hiyori graduated and went to high school. Separated, everything broke down. Naruto used to go to the café occasionally, but Hiyori was never there. Giving up on it, Kazuto had cut that, and her out of his life. She was his biggest regret. In an age where one could talk to someone on the other side of the world whenever they wanted; it seemed surreal to lose contact with someone just like that.

Kazuto knew, internally, that either of them could probably find each other's contact information. Send an email or private message. Yet… most of a year passed and neither of them had. Kazuto had felt such an attempt would be hollow. Messages and making plans both people knew would never come to fruition were all good for some, but that wasn't them.

Taking a step forward, Naruto walked toward her in a trance. As all the memories came back to him, all of the whispered secrets, all of the laughs, Naruto had to admit, he missed her. Even with his three girlfriends, there had been times, nights where he couldn't sleep, where he wanted to see her again. To sit at the café and simply bask her presence.

"Hehe, so, this is how we meet again."

Standing only a few feet away, neither of them moved to bridge the gap. Ingesting her words, Naruto couldn't help but smile. It was her. Her laugh, her way of talking. Scrutinizing her face, Naruto couldn't see any signs of depression either.

"You really think I'm that pretty?" Hiyori asked with a teasing smile but was unable to keep her cheeks from tinging red.

There seemed to be counting coming from the rest of the street's occupants, but Naruto's focus was solely on one point.

"I should have found you…"

At Naruto's whispered words, Hiyori's blush deepened.

"I should have as well, but I didn't know how to face you."

Here in SAO, all the problems that had once seemed important faded away. Reaching forward, Naruto closed the distance. What he'd wanted to do for so long but never had the courage, SAO had given it to him. Running his hand once through her hair, his brain finally latched onto what the countdown was for.

"Happy New Year Hiyori."

"Happy New Year Kazuto."

Leaning forward, Hiyori kissed him softly on the cheek.

This brought about another, rather uncomfortable realisation. Couples usually kiss to welcome in the new year. Face blanching, Naruto felt an ominous dread flow over him.

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

No voice answered him, merely one pair of confused eyes, and three enraged ones.

* * *

Epilogue

"Why did we leave the New Year's party early to come here?" Silica whined.

"You think you'll ever catch up to him, going to parties?" Lisbeth scolded her. "If you want to be worthy to join his party, you'll have to use every moment you can." After parting from Naruto, Lisbeth had found her party and dragged them on a quest. Anything to take her mind off the events off the party. What event exactly she needed escape from, even Lisbeth wasn't sure.

"Lisbeth," Liten berated Lisbeth in turn. "Don't use Silica's crush on Naruto to forward your own selfish ends.

"I-it's not selfish!" Lisbeth defended. "It will help all of us!"

Laughing, the three girls continued deeper into a hidden dungeon near the labyrinth of the second floor. The reason: a smithy quest for a rare item. According to the information, it was a ring that increased the user's chance of making better weapons. To clarify, in SAO when a smith made a weapon, it is impossible for the process to fail. Alternatively, the result can vary widely in power, based on the ore used. This is to say, if a master smith made a weapon from iron ore, and a novice did, 99% of the time, the master's weapon would surpass the novice's weapon. The beta testers believed that the game produced a range of percentages based on the smith's blacksmithing level and the ores. If the level of the ore surpassed the blacksmith's, it would result in the worst possible weapon every time. Normally, however, this should never be an issue.

This ring would reduce the number of below average blades Lisbeth would make. It may seem a minor thing, but over a hundred or a thousand forgings, it could result in a significant increase in profit.

"Do you hear that?" Breaking the group out of their laughter, Silica craned her head forward to listen.

Standing still it was only a moment later before the unmistakable sounds of combat echoed from further in the dungeon.

"Let's go!" Silica declared.

"Wait!" Lisbeth cried but it was too late. The kind-hearted Silica would never leave someone who may be in trouble. Rolling her eyes, Lisbeth and Liten followed Silica down the tunnel.

Opening into a larger room, the three girls found another party of three hard-pressed to hold their ground against a pair of Taurus Brutalisers.

Facing down one of the beasts herself, a short brown-haired swordswoman was locked in a dance of death with one of the ferocious beasts.

Unlike the more standard Taurus', the Brutalisers wielded just that, a gigantic one-edged cleaver that they freely swung with one hand.

The second Taurus was being weathered by a boy in heavy armor and a black-haired girl. Wielding a spear, the girl tried to keep it at a distance, but her attacks were too weak. Shrugging off the damage, the Taurus brought its great weapon down hard on the boy's hastily readied shield. Unable to stop the attack, the boy was blown straight back into the girl's frame. Tumbling across the ground, they were all but dead before the approaching Taurus.

"Like I'd let you!"

Copying her favorite hero, Silica dashed towards the Taurus and carved into it with one of her dagger skills.

Roaring with anger, the Taurus changed targets and fired a Horizontal at Silica's head. Deflecting the blade with her shield so it passed harmlessly over her head, Silica replied with a sword skill of her own.

"Help Silica, I'll join the dark-haired girl." Liz groaned.

Silica's build was fundamentally odd. It focused on a hit and run tactic, yet she used a shield. Using it to deflect rather than absorb attacks, Silica dashed through moves to attack the opponent directly. Liten and Lisbeth, however, wore far more armor and could actually tank hits. Liz would be described as an off-tank, while Liten with the full skill complement available was one of SAO's few full-tanks. Dressed in full plate the girl struggled to even move but was a literal fortress in battle.

Noticing the disturbance in the room, the brown-haired girl had let her attention wander from her fight. There was no doubt in Lisbeth's mind that this girl was very skilled but still inexperienced.

Understanding words would do no good here, Lisbeth sped up to reach her.

Turning back towards the Taurus, the girl was unable to get out of the way and the cleaver tasted flesh. Crying out in shock, the girl stumbled backwards and fell.

Laughing silently to herself at the repeat of what Silica had done moments before, Lisbeth absorbed the Vertical and responded with Hammerfall.

"Can you fight?" Asking the fallen girl quietly, Lisbeth didn't take her eyes off the enraged Taurus.

"Of course."

Showing impressive inner strength, the girl stood up and joined Lisbeth in facing down the Taurus.

"Wow! You girls sure are good," the boy gushed after the fight was over.

"Shut up Caynz!" the black-haired girl grumped.

Noticing the signs of a budding affection, the three couldn't help but smile at the scene.

"To be blunt," Lisbeth started, "what the hell are you doing here? It's pretty obvious your levels aren't high enough for this area."

What Lisbeth had said wasn't technically true. If SAO was still a game then their level would probably be the standard for this area, eight or nine. However, now that death was permanent, going into areas without a level gap was suicidal.

"I thought something was wrong," the brown-haired girl asserted calmly, "but I had it on a good source that we would be able to complete this quest."

"You're after the ring?" Silica butted in. "So are we! Feel free to join!"

"If you'd be willing to have us, we'll graciously accept. My name is Griselda." Reaching forward to shake hands, a new bond was formed in the dungeons of the second floor.

* * *

Final Note:

To everyone who is still reading, thanks for the support.

On an unrelated note, I'll be starting a different story next. This will be a crossover between SAO and another story I really like. If you have time I'd appreciate it if you could check it out.

As for Part 3, I'll hopefully start publishing it alongside the other story once I'm a few chapters in. Nevertheless, I make no promises on timescale as my motivation and time for writing seemingly change drastically overnight.

Until then, I'll catch you later.

-asdf


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